


Something to Someone

by raspberryseedz



Category: Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Major Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Post first movie, Romance, lots of other monster references, some greek mythology, will end up contradicting some of the second movie since I wrote most of it before that came out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-05 06:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5364875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberryseedz/pseuds/raspberryseedz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't wish to be everything to everyone, but I would like to be something to someone." -Javan. Mavis and Jonathan leave the hotel behind to see more of the monster world, a sorceress has an idea that could protect them all forever, an isolated monster wants to become a vampire, and Dracula discovers he actually likes strawberries. (Rating subject to change)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Orange Colored Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This is another cross-post from ff.net that I'm currently still working on. The idea actually started out kinda small and just got bigger and bigger as I realized there was so much going on with these characters that I wanted to talk about. I apologize if the OCs end up being overwhelming, there are really only two that end up major characters, the rest have very minor roles.
> 
> This chapter is just a short prologue, the rest will be a little meatier and set after the events of the first movie.

_"I was walking along, minding my business,_   
_When out of an orange colored sky,_   
_Flash! Bam! Alacazam! Wonderful you came by."_

Prologue: Orange Colored Sky

The sun rose quickly on the Hawaiian Islands. The nights were shorter, too, which for a vampire was not exactly ideal. If you found a shady enough hiding place, however, the sunrises were an absolutely incredible sight.

Dracula sat huddled in the shelter of a large crevice time and ocean water had carved into the mountains. Waves roared as they smashed against rocks, sometimes coming close enough to spray him with misty foam, but he didn't much care. His focus was entirely devoted to the mixture of pinks and oranges spread across the sky like a painting brought to life. The practical part of his mind that declared he should head back before he traps himself on the cliffs in broad daylight was quickly pushed back and buried.

Just a few more minutes.

A few more minutes, and then he'd go back for the day. A few more minutes couldn't hurt. After all, he had so few opportunities to see something as amazing as this sunrise. He could enjoy it for just a little while longer.

A sharp pain jostled him out of his reverie, as the sunlight grew high enough to cross into his cave. He pulled back into the shadows. The bright hues that moments before looked so warm and inviting would quickly turn into a death trap.

Time to face the light.

He took a deep breath and jumped out of his shelter, leaving behind a small wisp of purple smoke as he transformed. The first few minutes in the open air felt like he'd been smacked into a roaring oven. His wings beat furiously trying to maintain a level of altitude despite the burning pain. He ducked into a grove of palm trees that surrounded the beach, hoping for enough shade to provide some relief from the heat. He wove through the branches as fast as he could, dodging the little pockets of light they let through.

And then he crashed headlong into something. Hard.

He tumbled backwards, knocked out of his bat form entirely and landing with his back braced against the trunk of a palm tree and his cape tangled improperly over his head.

"Oww… Oh, wow! Holy rabies! Are you okay?" a voice exclaimed.

He slumped against the tree, nursing a sharp, throbbing pain at his forehead. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

"I'm so, so sorry! I didn't even see you!" the voice continued. "Here, let me help," she swiftly untwisted the cape, lifting the fabric away from his face. Their eyes met. Suddenly, the pain at his head was replaced with a dizziness and a wave of energy that shot through him like a bolt of lightning.

She had kind, grey eyes and dark hair that curled towards him when she leaned forward to offer him a hand up. Her skin was pale save for a slight flush at her cheeks, and if that wasn't enough, her smile revealed a set of sharp, pearly fangs.

That sunrise could eat its heart out.

"Well, this is quite the happy accident. Who would've thought I'd run into another vampire all the way out here," she remarked, gingerly touching her own forehead, "Sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry, I…it was my fault, is what I meant." He dropped his head in his hand. What he wouldn't give to be able to string three words together that made sense at this point.

"I'm Martha Lubode." She extended her hand. He took it.

"Vlad Dracula." He said simply.

She smiled, a soft kind smile that lit up her eyes and turned his insides to mush. "Good to meet you."


	2. A Dracula's Word is Sacred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mavis and Johnny prepare to leave the hotel, and Count Dracula, behind.

Chapter 1: A Dracula's Word is Sacred

December in Transylvania meant the hotel was entering its off-season. The mountains were covered in snow and most monsters were content to wait out the winter frost from the comfort of their homes. Dracula usually used this time to catch up on whatever repairs the hotel needed. The zombies often broke a window or crashed a hearse at least once, the piranha had to all be fished out of the moat before it froze over, and, this year, he needed to find a new chef after a certain hunchback had resigned.

Resigned was the polite word for what happened.

Of course the vampire didn't entirely blame Quasimodo for quitting after being frozen stiff for several hours. He had expected some resentment from the hunchback, but the frying pan through the revolving door was a little over the top, even for a monster with a temper to rival his own. What prevented a full-blown confrontation was, oddly enough, Mavis, who somehow managed to talk Quasimodo into leaving without causing further collateral damage and simultaneously talk him out of loping the Frenchman's nose off with a spoon.

He never much liked Quasimodo and his overcooked mouse jelly omelets anyway. Of course he hadn't realized then that finding a suitable replacement chef would be so much easier said than done.

The latest applicant was some undead ghoul of a woman with an ashen face and charred hair piled atop her head in an odd shape. She had a way of staring at him that was a bit unsettling, like she was thinking about swallowing him whole. He also couldn't understand half of what she was saying.

"And then a'course I 'ad my pie shop for a good many years, but bis'ness can get so flighty and with the price of meat w'at it tis you got to make some sacrifices."

"I see…" Dracula squinted at the woman's resume. "What kind of pies did you say you made, Mrs…?"

"Call me Nellie, love. It's Miss Nellie now. Ya know, you've got a smile that's downrig't painful," she said it while leaning in with her chin resting on a fist and her eyes half open. He had the feeling it was supposed to be some kind of compliment.

"Um… the pies…"

"An old family recipe, dearie. You got the rig't herbs an' you can make an old geezer taste like 'eaven."

"Old what?"

"Jus' a joke, love," she cackled. Her hand came down to rest on his.

A sharp, metallic knock echoed against the door. "Sir, sorry to interrupt, but your daughter…" the suit of armor began.

Dracula shot out of his chair. "Yes! Thank you! I'll get to that immediately!" He wrung his hands, silently thanking the armor for timely interruption.

"It's not urg…" the armor started.

"Don't call us, we'll call you," he said hurriedly to the baker woman, pushing her solidly out the door. She yanked her apron straight and left in a huff.

Dracula closed the door and shuddered.

"I was just going to report your daughter says she's finished packing," the suit of armor said slowly.

"Good work," Dracula clapped the suit of armor on the shoulder. "Perfect timing. Never let that woman near this place again."

Mavis had indeed finished packing, though actually reassembling the backpack was a feat she had not yet accomplished. She hadn't had a chance to use it since she'd gotten it three months ago, and had been so anxious to take it apart and fill it with her things she'd completely forgotten how each piece was supposed to strap together. The sleeping bag went on top; she was sure, and then the suitcase part… She stepped back to look at the odd lumpy mass she'd managed to strap together. Maybe she'd simply overstuffed it?

A soft knock preceded her father's entry. "Finished packing already, my little mosquito bite?"

"Yeah, Dad. Well, sort of," Mavis gestured to her backpack.

"Did you try to fit your whole room in there?" Dracula asked, amused. He noticed several pictures were missing from her wall, as were a few pillows that used to sit on her bed.

"I wanted to be prepared."

"You will have to carry it, you know."

"It's a plane ride, Dad. It's not like I'm flying myself," Mavis countered. "Besides, I can carry it," She made a show of lifting the, admittedly a bit bulky, backpack with one arm.

"Alright, alright," Dracula lifted his hands in a relenting gesture, "You did not forget anything? Calling cards, jacket, toothbrush…"

"Yes, Dad, I got all that."

"You remembered all the maps I gave you? We can go over them again."

"Dad, we've been over them a hundred times. I know the directions by heart. We can call you if the slightest thing goes wrong, don't worry."

She'd been saying those two words a lot lately, ever since she and Johnny started spending time away from the hotel little by little. First had been a night in the town now commonly known as "the village that likes monsters". Next was the concert in Bucharest with the band that made that infernal wiggle, wiggle, wiggle song he'd rather claw his own ears out than listen to ever again. And then, after the snow finally hit, they had spent a weekend further up the mountains where Jonathan taught her to ski. The day they decided to take a slightly longer trip much further away from the hotel was the day "Don't worry, Dad" became part of their everyday conversation.

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll only be gone two weeks."

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll stay in the monster community."

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll be careful."

"We'll call."

"We won't get lost."

"We'll stay in the shadows."

"Don't worry."

He tried not to let it show, but he was terrified.

Johnny had really wanted to see more of the established monster world, and Dracula had truthfully been more comfortable with that idea than sending Mavis off to a highly human populated area like Hawaii for her first long distance trip away from home. He knew he'd have to make peace with the fact that his daughter would be headed there eventually, but for now they were taking this in baby steps.

There were very few places in the world where monsters had congregated away from humans. The nearest was a coven in the Mediterranean commonly known as the Underworld. Dracula hadn't been there for over a hundred years but he still had a few connections, namely with an ancient monster named Echidna he had arranged for Mavis and Jonathan to stay with during their trip there. Echidna and her husband were some of the oldest monsters in the world, older even than him, and the most hospitable. They had seemed more than happy to take the young couple in for a few weeks and Dracula knew in his head it was one of the safest places they could go. But old habits died hard and he was still a little unsure about the whole thing.

"Y'know, you don't have to stay the whole two weeks," he said. "If you get homesick you can come right back…"

"Daaaad…" Mavis groaned, "Don't start."

"I'm not! I'm just saying…"

"I know, I know," She sighed, leaning against her enormous backpack. "It's just I've waited so long for this, I'm not gonna back out and I'm not gonna get homesick." Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized how that must've sounded. "I don't mean that I won't miss you…" she amended.

"Don't mince words with your old man, now," Dracula crossed his arms over his chest.

"Dad, you know what I meant. I will miss you. A lot. I'm just really excited! This is gonna be so much fun!" She practically bounced.

"I know, Mavy," he placed a hand on her shoulder and gazed seriously into her large eyes. "Just promise me you will be careful. No reckless games or rides from strangers or staying out late…"

"Of course, Dad, I promise." Mavis sighed. She must've promised this a hundred times by now.

He raised an eyebrow slyly, "Give me your word."

Mavis raised a hand, "My word as a Dracula. I will be careful." She smiled. "Now you have to promise me you won't go crazy while I'm gone."

"Me? Crazy?"

"Yeah, that you won't get too lonely and start… I dunno," she shrugged, "talking to walls or making voodoo dolls out of old socks or something."

Dracula scoffed, "Pfft, lonely… I…I have so much work here I won't even have time…"

"Dad, just promise."

"Okay, alright, Dracula's word. I promise I won't be lonely and talk to walls. There."

Mavis smiled. She leaned in for a quick hug when something soft and powdery burst against her window. She opened it and leaned out to find Johnny on the distant ground below, bundled up to the neck and ankle deep in snow.

"Last chance for a snowball fight, Mavy-Wavy!" The young man yelled, grinning from ear to ear. "Betcha can't catch me!"

"We'll see about that, Johnny!" Mavis yelled back. She climbed onto the windowsill only to remember mid-step that her father was still there. She glanced back.

The older vampire stood with an affectionate smile and a somewhat distant look in his eye. He gave his daughter a quick nod, indicating she should go.

Mavis grinned back and dove gracefully out the window.

It wasn't hard for her to catch up with Johnny. He wasn't the most sure-footed of people even without several feet of snow to slow him down and she was, well, a vampire. She may have slowed her pace on purpose to keep the chase going a little longer, though. Just a little.

She tossed two snowballs at him and missed both times. She jumped and tackled him into the snow, smashing a fistful of the stuff into his hair. He whined something she couldn't hear and then maneuvered behind her, somehow managing to drop a pellet of ice the size of an acorn down the back of her shirt.

"Auuuggh! Johnny!" Mavis shrieked. She shook out her sweater until ice slid off her back and into the snow.

Johnny laughed. "I thought vampires didn't feel cold?"

"We're not impervious to it!"

"Obviously…" Johnny was interrupted by a large clump of snow that nailed him right in the face. He shook his head violently. "Hey! Cheap shot!"

"You were asking for it!" Mavis laughed. He scrambled to his feet and took off again, rounding a particularly high bank of snow before nearly running straight into the enclosing wall. He turned to head the other direction only to come face to face with Mavis.

"Ha," she exclaimed, catching him around the waist and trapping him against the wall. "Got you," she whispered, low and just a little voracious. She kissed him, sweet and soft and it warmed him all the way down to his toes.

They pulled back and he let out a heavy breath that melted the air. "I guess you win."

She pecked him on the cheek, gracious in victory, and gave him a smile. "You ready for our next adventure."

"You know me, I'm always ready for those." Jonathan slid his gloved hands around his girlfriend's waist. "What about you? You all packed?"

"Yeah, if I try to fit anything else in that backpack I think it will explode… I'm not sure I strapped it in right, though."

"I'll take a look at it before we leave, I'm sure it's fine." He gave her a confident grin. "How's your dad?"

"He's still nervous about it, but he'll be okay," She tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear, suddenly growing thoughtful. "I mean, I don't think he'll flip his cape at the last minute and try to stop us from going…" she trailed off.

"But…" Johnny prodded.

"I don't know, I guess I feel a little weird about leaving him alone."

Jonathan cocked his head, "Except you're not…"

"I kind of am."

"There's like fifty monsters here all the time. At minimum."

"I know, but…It's like…" she paused, searching for the words, "I've been here every day for over a hundred years… I'm the only thing he has here that doesn't have to do with work."

"That's not true. I mean I know most of your monster buddies are kicking it back home right now, but he loves this hotel. It's not really work if you love it."

She lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

"Mavis, you have nothing to be worried about. Your dad's cool. It's not like he'll die from Mavis-withdrawals after two weeks."

"I know, you're right," she sighed. "I'm sorry, Johnny. All I've talked about for months is how much I want to see the world and now that I'm finally starting to I'm acting like I've got cold feet."

"Ah, speaking of cold feet," He lifted a boot, "I don't know about you but my feet are kind of over this snow thing."

She laughed, hooking an arm into his. "Let's go inside."

"Man, I'm so glad we're going to a beach," he exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "Bring on the sand, baby!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: -Nellie: Usually known as Mrs. Lovett (and her first name varies from different versions, though I believe it's usually Nellie) she first appeared as a character alongside her accomplice Sweeney Todd in The String of Pearls, published as a serial in 1846-7. She might have been based off of a real person. Todd was her neighbor and a barber who murdered people by slitting their throats with a shaving razor after which Lovett would dispose of the bodies by baking them into pies and selling them to the public (ew...) Most people probably know her from the Burton film, though I'm personally more familiar with the stage musical on which that film was based where she's kind of an incorrigible flirt (and portrayed by Angela Lansbury. Mrs. Potts was once a serial killer.) It may not make total sense to have her in this universe with all these horror B-movie characters but she started out in the Victorian era rough equivalent of a horror movie, so it works for me.


	3. Waltz in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mavis and Johnny are on their way to the Underworld but suffer a rocky landing.

When Jonathan had learned that monsters had a more or less organized air travel system with airports and travel agents and the like he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He supposed it made sense in retrospect. If monsters had a hotel they'd probably have to have an airport, too. But all he had seen of the monster community so far had been in Dracula's hotel, and it was a little strange to think of the monsters existing outside the candle-lit, monolithic castle much less flying in a 747. It turned out the airport was more of a glorified hangar buried on a mountainside, and the plane looked like the plane from Casablanca had been taken apart and put back together in hot-rod body shop.

"Whoa, cool!" he exclaimed, running with Mavis in tow to get a closer look. Most of the plane was yellow and had a trail of flames painted on the side with a flourishing red  _Janice_  written near the tail. Despite the paint aesthetic and a few extra wings that didn't seem to have a use apart from looking cool, the aircraft was decidedly small and vintage looking. "Check out the propellers! They must be from like 1943 or something. Are we really going up in this?" he asked, excited.

"Yeah, pretty sure we are," Mavis smiled sidelong at him. She had assumed the plane ride would be the most uninteresting part of their trip, but she had obviously underestimated her boyfriend's capacity for enthusiasm. "What's the significance of 1943?"

"It's just so…" Johnny opened his mouth to answer and then abruptly shut it. He had been about to say 'It's so old.' 1943 wasn't very old to Mavis. "It… was a good year for planes. I think." He finished lamely.

"Alright, alright," something pushed at the back of Johnny's knees, directing him towards the stairs leading up to the door. "Time to get in. Time to get in. Don't have all night."

Jonathan looked down to find he was being pushed by a mustachioed gremlin wearing a scarf and a helmet cut to make room for his enormous ears. The name Gus was sewn onto the helmet. "Easy, G-man, I'm going."

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Gus," Mavis said politely, hoisting her backpack up the stairs.

"Wait, you're the pilot," Johnny remarked with surprise. He leaned down till he was face to face with the much shorter creature. "That's so cool. I thought gremlins only ate things, or took things apart."

"We take apart and then make it better!" Gus affectionately patted the plane's side. " _Janice_  is the best. I made her from five different planes. And a Ducati."

"A Du-what?" Mavis asked.

"Now, time to fly." The gremlin strapped on a pair of goggles, fitting them over his large eyes with a practiced snap.

 _Janice_  was one of the smaller planes Johnny had ever traveled on. There were no other passengers with them and only four seats other than their own. They sat their backpacks on the two empty seats in front of them and each took turns watching the propellers spring to life out their narrow window. The whole body of the plane clattered and shook noisily as the engine roared to life. Mavis grasped his arm. The plane taxied briefly around the narrow mountain ledge before speeding towards the cliff.

"Here we go!" Johnny smiled.

"Is it supposed to be this noisy?" Mavis leaned in. She had never been in an airplane before but somehow she'd imagine it quieter. Flying as a bat required no noise whatsoever.

"No worries," he shouted. "Just roll with it."

The aircraft plunged over the cliff. Mavis's fingernails dug into Johnny's arm. They swooped down towards the treetops before spiking up again, quickly leveling off into the clouds.

* * *

Dracula scratched a thick line over another name on the applicants list before telepathically crumbling it into a ball and tossing it over his shoulder. He let his head fall against the desk and groaned.

How hard could it be to find  _one_ monster that could make a decent roast… and wasn't temperamental… or some kind of cannibal… or a creepy flirt? Or a combination of the three.

He had gone through trolls, giants, goblins, even a handful of zombies that somehow thought they could cook. One of the giants might've worked out if he'd been willing to work holidays. Dave the Killer Tomato turned out wasn't a clever pseudonym but an actual tomato. He was at his wit's end.

He slid out of his office for some fresh air. He had to get his mind off this chef problem. But if he didn't think about the chef problem he automatically ended up thinking about Mavis, who was flying thousands of feet in the air right now and quite out of his reach.

The vampire found the lobby completely deserted, save for a few spiders touching up the drapes. The room always looked twice as large when it was quiet and empty and you could see every inch of the long red carpets and the flickering of every candle across the walls. He passed the front desk with its sprawling wall of assorted room keys. The zombie attending the desk was bent over the back of his chair, snoring in an odd gurgle with a long stream of drool running down his chin. Dracula grimaced. In a red flash he rose over the desk, fangs bared, cape spread, and he roared.

The zombie shot out of the chair and crumbled into a ball behind the desk, his eyes huge.

"Don't let it happen again, Robert," Dracula walked off calmly.

He climbed the stairs, glancing at the massive pipe organ that stood there before moving on. It certainly looked perfect, immaculate and clean and impressive in its size. It probably desperately needed to be tuned, however. How long had it been since he'd had that done? Thirty years? Forty? How long had it'd been since the organ had even been  _played?_

He wandered into the elevator, trying to remember the name of the monster that had tuned it the last time… however many years ago that was. Zombie Beethoven probably knew. But what was the point of getting it maintained if it was never going to be played? It was practically a glorified wall ornament now.

"You think any harder and you're gonna hurt yourself," the snappy voice of a disembodied shrunken head reprimanded him.

Dracula suddenly realized he'd somehow wandered up to Mavis's room. The shrunken head that hung on her door handle addressed him with her usual sour expression. "What're you doin' here? Come to snoop while your daughter's gone?"

"Not remotely," Dracula snapped back. He had never gotten along with this particular head, but if she had one saving grace it was that she was almost as protective of Mavis as he was. Almost. "I was just thinking... I guess I ended up here out of habit…"

"Habit?" The head swayed disapprovingly, "Honey, you need to get out more."

* * *

It didn't take long for Mavis to get accustomed to the sounds  _Janice_  the aircraft made while flying. In fact, after the takeoff the noise and the shakiness calmed down considerably and she found herself actually enjoying the ride. Johnny let her have the widow seat so she could see the bird's eye view of the world as they left the mountains behind. Mavis marveled at how small everything looked.

Johnny taught her to play I Spy, which he said was a bit easier in the daytime and inside a car or a train so you were a bit closer to the objects you were pointing out. They eventually switched to picking objects in the plane, though most of the interesting things were up in the cockpit with Gus and Mavis didn't want to get on his nerves.

Eventually Jonathan fell asleep in his seat and Mavis pulled out a magazine, switching between reading and watching the landscape change beneath them. Finally, the dark rocky shapes smoothed into a flat, blue sheet of water.

"Johnny!" she nudged him. "Johnny, wake up, we're over the ocean!"

"Huh," her boyfriend's head snapped up and he shook himself awake. "Really? Already?"

She made room for him so he could see out their window, though Johnny was truthfully paying more attention to how wide her eyes got in wonder at the view.

"This is incredible! What are those dots down there? Is that land?" She asked.

"Probably islands. Kinda like Hawaii." Johnny replied, squinting. He really couldn't make out much in the dark of night other than the occasional wave. No wonder she was so much better than him at I Spy.

The plane suddenly shook violently. Mavis gasped. "What's going on?"

"Wind's not right, Miss Dracula," Gus called from the cockpit. "Got to land."

Johnny and Mavis quickly strapped themselves in. They passed through a particularly grey cloud and the whole cabin of the plane trembled. Mavis glanced nervously at Johnny and he gave her a reassuring smile. The craft descended slowly, dipping slightly before leveling out.

"Are we landing in the water?" Mavis asked.

"Never!" the gremlin shouted in a terrified squeak. "We're landing on the island."

"What island?" As soon as Johnny said it a loud scrape sounded against the floor. Thousands of dark silhouetted leaves beat against the windshield. There was a sharp bump as the plane connected with the ground and then it gradually rolled to a stop. Pilot and passengers sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.

"That wasn't so bad," Johnny said, giving Mavis a reassuring smile.

A second later it started to rain.

* * *

When the telephone went off at the hotel lobby Dracula nearly mowed several zombie bellhops down in order to reach it first.

"Hello! Mavis! Jonathan! Are you there yet? Hello!"

"Slow down, sweetie, it's just me," a voice crackled over the receiver.

"Echidna?"

"Hello to you, too, Vlad," Dracula winced at the rare use of his first name. Echidna had never really caught on that he didn't much care for it. The phone crackled again as she continued, "I was just calling to see if the kids left on time."

"They aren't there yet?" Dracula glanced at the clock. "Mavis said they took off a few hours ago, but Johnny's phone apparently doesn't work well in high altitudes…" He bit down on a frown. They were supposed to call the second they landed. They should be there by now.

"I'm sure it's nothing to fret about," Echidna remarked. A crash rolled over whatever she'd been about to say next.

"Echidna?"

There was a rustle and a muffled whining noise and then Echidna came back on. "Sorry, Vlad, I've got two grandkids over and they always fuss when it rains…"

"It's raining?"

"Mmmhmm. Just started." She gave a labored huff like she was lifting something heavy, "I'm getting a touch too old to be running after babies anymore, I'm afraid. TY! Ty come take the kids before they chew up the carpet!" Dracula pulled the phone away and rubbed at his ear while Echidna yelled for her husband. There was static and a few clicks as the phone apparently changed hands.

"Hey, Drac, how's business?" a deep voice sounded in Echidna's place.

"Um, it's fine. Echidna said something about rain?"

"Oh, yeah, it's starting to come down pretty hard. Probably nothing compared to the snow you're getting up there, though." Ty said casually.

"Won't that affect the plane?"

"Don't worry, Drac, pilots can handle a little rain. I'm sure they're fine." He paused and Dracula heard Echidna mumble something from a distance. "Echidna says she'll call you back the moment the kids get here. Hang on," More rustling sounded. "Sorry, Drac, we got the grandkids over. I gotta go, but we'll talk later, okay. Don't work so hard."

The line shut off with a click.

* * *

"Some adventure, huh?" Mavis smiled nervously. The two were huddled inside the plane watching their gremlin pilot switch between coddling the cockpit machinery like a baby and pulling at his ears cursing the rainwater. She wasn't sure if Gus knew where they were or how far they'd landed from their intended destination. She also wasn't sure how much damage the plane had taken, though the pilot's behavior wasn't comforting on that front. Jonathan's cell phone hadn't been of much help so far either.

"Hey, getting stranded and stuck in the rain is what rolling with it is all about," Johnny said, ever the optimist. "C'mon!" He grabbed her hand and before she could protest he jumped out the plane door and into the rain.  _Janice_  had landed on a long stretch of rocks ending in a steep cliff that dropped into the sea. The side of the cliff was built up gradually like a natural staircase that led to the ribbon of trees and shoreline that made up the rest of the island. That was the direction he headed.

"Johnny?" Mavis laughed. The water was cold and heavy and she was soaked within moments. "Where are you going?"

"I dunno. Exploring." He climbed down a few sloping rocks before suddenly tripping and sliding the rest of the way. "Careful, it's slippery there." Mavis rolled her eyes, disappearing from the upper ledge in a puff and reappearing next to him a moment later. "Show off," he smiled.

He pulled her into a small patch of trees, the branches lessening the rainfall a little, though they were both already so drenched it hardly mattered. Mavis's hair was plastered to her face and she tried to brush it back.

"It's like an outdoor ballroom," Mavis said, surveying the circle of trees that met above them in a graceful arch.

"Madam Vampire," Jonathan held out his hand and she eyed him warily, partly wondering whether he was planning on taking off again and dragging her with him. She placed her small, gloved hand in his larger one and he pulled her in. He took her by the waist with his free hand and started to sway.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"Waltzing, what's it look like?"

"Not like any waltz I've seen." Mavis stopped him, adjusted his hold on the small of her back and showed him where to step. "Think of it in beats of three," she counted off for him, "One, two, three… one, two, three, smaller steps." The couple circled around the trees, crunching wet leaves underfoot.

Johnny stared down at his feet, trying to avoid stepping on her toes. Of course Mavis would know how to waltz. He'd only seen it done in movies; she probably lived through its heyday in the mid-19… whatevers. He must've looked like such an idiot earlier.

He stepped into something hard and round and lost his balance. Mavis moved to steady him. "Careful," she giggled.

"It wasn't me," He reached down through the leaves and grass to find the object that somehow managed to make him look even more foolish. "It was this… squirrel?" The two stared perplexed at the statue of a squirrel, frozen mid-stride, that Johnny was holding by the tail. "Weird," he said.

"Johnny, look, there's another one," Mavis pointed at a stone rabbit poking out of the ground a few feet away. "And up on that branch, that looks like a bird."

The two looked from the scattered stone animals and back to each other.

"Where are we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Gremlin lore was largely started by RAF pilots in WWII, who would blame the tiny creatures for sabotaging their planes and causing accidents and such. Roald Dahl, who served in the RAF, wrote his first children's book about the gremlin story, which was published by Disney in 1942 (and had a main character named Gus). Most appearances of gremlins since then had something to do with aircraft or mechanical tampering, with the slight exception of the Spielberg movie franchise that came out in 1984. Even though the gremlin lady in HT was probably based more off of the devilish, insatiable monsters in the 1984 movie and not the tiny aircraft saboteurs of Dahl, I thought it'd be a fun idea to have a gremlin as a pilot and mixed the two versions.


	4. Welcome to the Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny makes a new friend, in his own way.

The rain didn't let up until sunrise. Gus pulled apart the cockpit with a screwdriver and put it back together murmuring consoling encouragements to the wires and gears.

Mavis and Johnny took turns using the cabin to change out of their wet clothes and laid their sleeping bags down the aisle. It took three tries but Mavis finally got the cell phone signal to pull through long enough to call her father and let him know what happened. The older vampire had seemed… relieved was too simple a word for it. It was like he was trying to sound grateful to hear her voice, lecture her for not calling sooner, and convince himself nothing would come of him swooping down thousands of miles to try and bring her back all at the same time. He promised to call Echidna and let them know about the accident before static overtook his voice and the call dropped.

"I used to think these were pretty cool," Mavis said, turning the phone over in her hands. "But it's not exactly reliable, is it?"

Johnny took the phone back. "Hey, nothing's perfect. At least you did get through. Now he won't think we've died horribly."

"True." Mavis yawned. "I didn't get a chance to tell him about the weird statues."

"Statues," Gus poked his head out from behind the curtain that closed off the cockpit. "What kind of statues?" he asked.

"We found all these animal statues when we went exploring. Birds and squirrels and stuff and a lot of them were in weird poses." Johnny demonstrated, bending his legs and stretching his arms out like he was running on all fours.

"How many?" the gremlin demanded.

"Lots. Scattered all over the place. Some were even stuck to tree branches."

"Stone?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Gus leapt out of the cockpit in a frenzy. "Keep the windows covered. If you hear a noise do not get out of the plane," he ordered, collecting the spare blanket and pillow he had intended to sleep in the cockpit with and moved into the cabin.

"What's the problem?" Mavis asked, still confused.

"Don't you kids know anything? All those statues can only mean we've landed in gorgon territory." He said it with an impressive amount of energy, as if the word alone was intended to inspire an intense reaction.

The two teenagers merely stared at him blankly.

"You know what a gorgon is, don't you?" Gus crossed his arms in an accusatory tone. "Don't they teach you softheads anything? Gorgons are the monsters with a nest of snakes growing outta their hair," his blunt fingers waved over his hat in an effort to illustrate, "and if you ever look one in the eye, then BAM!" his fist thumped against his seat. "You're turned instantly to stone…"

"That would explain the animals…" Johnny said, eyes wide.

"That's awful," Mavis shuddered. She couldn't imagine being stuck in one position for the rest of your life, not moving, not talking, not feeling. "Does it ever wear off?"

"Never." Gus said, dark and ominous. "You'll be stone forever. And the gorgon's eye doesn't care if you're animal, monster, or human," he glanced meaningfully at Johnny, "they turn everyone to stone. So, no more exploring around this island. We'll find a way out as soon as it's dark. Safer that way."

Johnny lay wide-awake in his sleeping bag. It wasn't Gus's awful snoring that kept him awake, or the dreadful scratchy feeling developing in his own throat, though that was part of it. He desperately needed to use a restroom. The plane didn't have one, obviously, and he'd have to step over Mavis's sleeping bag in order to get outside. And the pilot's gorgon warning was still fresh in his mind.

He should probably hold it until… what? Until night fell and they could leave? Until his bladder exploded? What was he thinking?

He crept around Mavis as quietly as he could, tiptoeing around several seats until finally making it to the door.

"Where are you going?"

Johnny froze. He pivoted slowly to see Mavis sitting up with a worried expression.

"I'm just going to… y'know, the bathroom… Not that there's a bathroom out there, but I have to… uh…"

"I get it, Johnny," she said, bluntly.

"Oh. Okay, I'll be right back then."

She nodded. "Be careful."

"C'mon babe, careful's my middle name!"

"I thought your middle name was James?"

"It's just an expression, Mavis," He cracked the door open and a ribbon of light streamed through. "Um, you might want to scoot back a little."

She shuffled awkwardly in her sleeping bag until she was far enough away that he could slip through the door and into the sunshine.

Jonathan hadn't been out in the daylight in months. He'd almost forgotten what it was like. The clouds from the night before had all burnt off. The sky was crystal blue and beautiful, not a trace of rain was left. Everything was bright, almost eerily so. For once he could see every detail in the rocks and grass at his feet. He didn't have to squint to make out the sloping edge of the island as it curved into the ocean. He thought of Mavis and wondered, with a hint of envy, what it would be like to see as well as she did in the dark.

He had to climb down a few feet from the plane in order to find a suitable tree to relieve himself under. A shadow passed behind him and when he turned to look he found nothing but trees and empty bushes. He sneezed. Maybe he was coming down with something.

He turned to head back when something shot past him and latched the sleeve of his jacket to the tree.

"Wha…" Johnny stared, stunned. Someone just shot an arrow at him! He pulled and ripped at his sleeve in a panic. Another arrow launched, catching his pant leg, and then another and another. In a split second he was thoroughly pinned to the tree like a hapless voodoo doll. One last arrow hit mere inches away from his right ear. He let out a yelp.

"Alright, who are you and what are you doing on my island?"

An arrow drawn tight against it's bow appeared level with his nose. Holding it back was a green woman wearing a well-worn jacket over a loose dress and a pair of thick, dark sunglasses. A cluster of angry, hissing snakes swarmed around her head. Johnny's eyes snapped shut.

"Please-don't-turn-me-to-stone-I'm-so-young-and-my-girlfriend's-amazing-and-I-haven't-even-been-to-Seaworld…"

"Whoa…hey… hey, kid. Kid!" she shouted. "If I wanted to turn you to stone you'd be stone already. Alright? You can calm down now."

"You won't turn me to stone…" Johnny whimpered.

The gorgon let out a martyred sigh. "See these glasses…" she tapped a finger against a lens. "As long as I've got them on you'll be fine."

Johnny hesitantly cracked an eye open. "Glasses?"

She had lowered the bow and stood with one hand resting casually on her hip. Her head was cocked a little to the side as she regarded him but it was difficult to tell how angry or annoyed she was with the sunglasses obscuring half her face. After Johnny was convinced opening his eyes wouldn't result in instant petrifaction he sagged against the tree with relief.

"Now who are you and what are you doing here?" she repeated, firm but most of the harshness in her voice had cooled off.

"I'm… Johnny," he replied awkwardly. "My girlfriend and I are on vacation…"

"Kinda far from most tourist traps, kid," the gorgon said with a suspicious lilt.

"No, see, we're not tourists. Well, kind of. We were supposed to be staying with Echidna, but…"

"Echidna," every snake on the gorgon's head perked to attention. "How does a human know Echidna?"

"I don't." Johnny admitted. "My girlfriend… well, she doesn't either, but her dad, he's Count Dracula, y'know, blah-bluh-blah, and we're on this plane and kinda got stuck in the storm and had to land and we didn't know that anybody ah…. Achoo!" he suddenly sneezed violently.

"You coming down with something, kid?"

Johnny sniffed. "We might've stayed out in the rain a little too long."

"And why didn't you head over to Echidna's once the rain stopped?"

"That's what I was trying to explain," Johnny sighed. "My girlfriend's a vampire. She can't go out in the sunlight."

"A vampire?" she repeated skeptically. "A human dating a vampire…" She rolled over the sentence like it was part of some complicated riddle. Johnny suddenly felt himself grow defensive.

"Yeah. What of it?" he snapped.

She held up her hands apologetically. "Don't get excited, kid. It's just not something you run into everyday. Y'know they drink blood, right?"

"Blood substitutes."

"Whatever." Her hand waved dismissively, "so that's how you know about monsters like Echidna? Through your girlfriend?"

"Well, through her dad. Count Dracula. You've heard of him, right?"

"Vaguely, I didn't know he had a daughter."

"He does," Johnny paused, running Mavis's comment through his mind about how everyone freaks out when they learn about Dracula's daughter. This monster wasn't freaking out, but she wasn't warming up to him either. "You believe me, don't you?" he asked, tentatively.

"I feel like I shouldn't," she admitted, pushing a few snakes out of her face the way Mavis tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's kind of an insane story. Almost too insane for you to have made it up. But the only way for me to know for sure is if I take you to Echidna and check it out with her. Either way it gets you off my island."

"So… you can let me go now?" Johnny smiled hopefully.

The gorgon lightly smiled back and pulled the arrow next to his ear out with a sharp yank. "I'll have you know," she brandished the arrow's point so he could clearly see how sharp it was, "I missed you on purpose."

Johnny gulped. "I believe you."

"Don't take it personally," she continued, freeing up his legs and then his arms and swiftly stowing the arrows away into a quiver at her belt. When Johnny was finally safely on the ground he realized the gorgon wasn't much taller than he was. "But the last human who wandered onto this island tried to cut my head off," she said bluntly.

Johnny's hand went to his neck instinctively. "Yeah, I guess most humans haven't been very friendly with monsters."

"Not really," She shrugged. "To be honest, it wasn't exactly you I was worried about. But if one human pokes around this place like you were and starts blabbing to all his friends, sooner or later I'm gonna be overrun with people and either I'll get killed or I'll end up stoning somebody. Or both. Do you understand?"

There was a lot riding behind that one question. He wasn't just being asked to be forgiving about the intimidation routine or understanding of the fear that motivated it, he was being trusted with a secret. "I understand," he replied. "So, if I promised not to tell any humans about the island we'd be cool, right?"

"Cool?"

Johnny sometimes wondered how monsters could know a lot about human euphemisms and still not get basic slang. "Cool as in good, like you won't try to skewer me with more arrows."

"If Echidna trusts you than so can I. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, human or monster, about this place. Then we're cool."

"To be honest, I don't even know where we are." He admitted, sheepishly running a hand up the back of his neck.

The gorgon gave a quick, snorting laugh. "I guess your ignorance is a point in your favor. You're a pretty strange kid."

"Well, you're a pretty strange monster… ummm, what was your name?"

The gorgon paused, every snake on her head adjusting to stare him down. "Medusa," she said at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medusa is most commonly known in Greek mythology as the monster slain by Perseus, who was able to cut her head off without being turned to stone by using his shield as a mirror (Eddie Izzard has a really funny bit on this btw). In some versions of the myth Medusa is the only one of her kind, sometimes there's a whole race of gorgons, usually she at least has two other sisters, Euryale and Sthenno, both of whom are immortal while Medusa was not (which never made any sense to me, I mean couldn't she have been an immortal that died due to loss of head? Can immortals survive decapitation, ancient Greeks? What gives?). Medusa was an archer in both the original and the remake of Clash of the Titans, she was also shown wearing sunglasses in the Percy Jackson movie and in an episode of Disney's Hercules so she could look at people without turning them to stone.


	5. Into the Underworld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mavis and Johnny finally make it to their destination, entering the Underworld and meeting a new group of monsters.

Mavis wasn't exactly thrilled when she learned what happened when Johnny met Medusa. He was over the incident practically the second it happened and his enthusiasm over meeting another monster was a touch infectious. But Mavis wasn't as forgiving about her boyfriend being shot at and interrogated just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The gorgon's offer to take them to Echidna's personally sounded more like a confused threat to her than a genuine offer of help.

The vampire's distrust was nothing, however, compared to how insane Gus got at the sight of a gorgon entering his plane. When he failed to scare the taller monster off with a socket wrench he declared the aircraft under evacuation and marched off into the woods with a toolbox.

"He'll come back once I've gone," Medusa said, unfazed.

"Gremlins are kind of excitable," Johnny explained.

Mavis crossed her arms and kept her opinions to herself.

After a few seconds of awkward silence Johnny let out a powerful sneeze.

"What was that?" Mavis jumped.

"Just a sneeze, Mavis," Johnny said, wiping his nose.

"I think your boyfriend's getting sick," Medusa said.

"Sick!" Mavis reacted in horror. She had never gotten sick herself, but she'd read about plagues and diseases that sometimes wiped out entire human populations. She hovered close to his face, studying the color of his eyes and the redness of his nose.

"It's just a sneeze. I'm fine!" Johnny protested.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Medusa collected her bow and got up to leave. Her loose skirt shifted and Johnny noticed she wasn't wearing shoes.

"Where do you think she's going?" Johnny asked.

Mavis ignored him and pressed a hand against his forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you? Or nausea? What is nausea, anyway?"

"Uh, it's like that feeling you get when you're about to throw up," he offered. He wasn't sure how much about human illnesses he wanted to explain to Mavis. Especially when his own knowledge didn't get much more sophisticated than 'throw up'. "I guess vampires don't get sick very often."

"I've gotten migraines," Mavis offered.

"It must be awesome being a vampire. You're immortal, you don't age, you don't get sick…"

"I've aged. Just really slowly." Mavis pointed out. "It took me over a hundred years to get to this age, you did it in twenty-one."

"That's not necessarily a good thing," Johnny countered. "Time moves so fast for me, I don't even remember most of elementary school, it's all just a blur."

"Well, try having it take forever. It's so boring, being stuck the same age for years and years. Everyone else is free to do things you can't. You have to wait ninety-nine years just to learn to drive, and even then you can't go anywhere."

Johnny had to admit that would kind of suck. "Yeah, but you get a killer immune system and you won't have to worry about getting old and wrinkly and your bones creaking whenever you try to move."

Mavis shook her head. "I don't know that I won't ever get old and wrinkly. It'll just take a really long time. And I'll probably stay old and wrinkly even longer."

A thought stirred inside Johnny that had been in the back of his mind for a while now. Probably since the moment he realized he was in love with a vampire. Mavis would have a ridiculously long lifespan; in fact calling it a lifespan would probably be inaccurate in several ways. And he… well, he wouldn't be twenty-one for very much longer by comparison.

"Uh, Mavis," he began, "about this aging stuff, I mean, it's gonna be weird later on with you being a vampire and I'm, well….is there any way that I could…"

His thought was interrupted when Gus came charging in, munching on what used to be the doorhandle. "Thousands of islands in this forsaken ocean and we had to crash on the one with a bloody gorgon!" he muttered.

"Aw c'mon, Gus, she's not gonna hurt you. She's got those neat glasses."

"Those could come off at any second," he barked back.

"He kinda has a point, Johnny," Mavis said, resting a hand on his arm. "She did shoot at you."

"She was just trying to protect her home, it's no crazier than what your dad did after I stumbled onto the hotel."

Mavis wanted to point out that shooting at him was, indeed, a lot crazier than anything her dad had tried to get Johnny to leave, but as soon as she opened her mouth the gorgon reappeared.

"Here, drink this while it's still hot," she handed Jonathan a mug filled with a clear, steamy liquid.

"What is it?" Mavis asked, her nose perking slightly at its awful smell.

"That is the one guaranteed thing to nip a cold in the bud. Trust me, if you show up at Echidna's coughing and sneezing she'll make you gargle saltwater for days." She said with an assurance that only comes from excessive experience. She dropped herself into a seat, her legs crossed under her, and looked expectantly at Jonathan.

He took a small sip, smacking his lips together as the hot liquid ran through his system. "Hmm, lemony. It's actually pretty good," he said, tipping the mug back for more.

"What's in it?" Mavis's nose wrinkled.

"Mostly lemon water, honey, a bit of crushed garlic," Medusa counted off on her fingers.

Johnny downed the rest of the concoction while Mavis scooted away with an odd look on her face. Perhaps this was what nausea felt like.

As soon as the sun had set Medusa led them down to a rock formation at the water's edge where she had a boat hidden. Mavis climbed into the back seat first, carefully setting her backpack at her feet so it would take up as little room as possible. Medusa sat next to her in order to start the motor and Johnny followed quickly behind. He had changed into his Johnnystein disguise to try and avoid any freakouts when they got to the Underworld. Mavis didn't like it but she didn't want to unnecessarily scare anyone either. Medusa had only shook her head and said, "I can't decide whether that's brilliant or absurd."

Gus stood fixed to the ground stubbornly several feet away with his arms crossed.

"Gus, aren't you getting in the boat?" Johnny said, tossing his backpack inside.

"I'm not going anywhere with that…"

"Gus…"

"I don't trust her," the gremlin grumbled. "She could kill us at any second…"

"Bus is leaving, Furball," Medusa shouted authoritatively. "You either get in now or you're stuck having breakfast with me when I get back." She leaned back in her seat, arms folded casually behind her head, snakes fanned around her arms. Gus took a moment before her statement fully sunk in and he plopped himself grouchily on the seat furthest away from her.

"And no eating any of the equipment, then you'll really be stranded with me." Medusa remarked sardonically. She waited until everyone was settled and then started the motor.

They didn't have to travel far by Mavis's estimation. They only passed one or two other little islands before heading toward a towering cliff side. Three waterfalls ran close down its face, or perhaps they were one waterfall that had somehow split into three on the way down. Mavis nudged Jonathan to get his attention.

"Dad told me about this," she pointed to the top of the cliff, "the landing strip for the planes are up there, and the waterfalls are supposed to mark the entrance."

"One of them, anyway," Medusa added, "The Underworld has more gates in and out of it than most monsters can keep track of. Every time there's a human scare there's a mad rush to seal all of the doors but a couple always get forgotten and found again later. It seems like everybody has their own private way of getting here."

"Really," Johnny asked, intrigued, "What's yours?"

Medusa simply shrugged. "Don't come here often enough anymore." She maneuvered the boat until it glided in the gap between the rushing waterfall and the cliff. A gaping hole in the rock suddenly appeared and the boat drifted straight inside.

"Whoa…" Johnny and Mavis both gasped simultaneously. The cavern they'd sailed into was deceptively larger than the entrance had implied. A row of torches bolted into the stone walls lit their way down the tunnel, but it was impossible to tell how high the ceiling was since the light didn't stretch far enough. Medusa shut off the motor and climbed out, wading through shallow, but oddly dark water to pull the boat into position to be tied off to the wall.

"Go ahead, climb out," she instructed. "You won't be walking through water long, it levels out pretty soon."

Johnny jumped out so fast the boat rocked. Gus gave a startled shriek and latched onto the boy's backpack. "Warn somebody before you do that!" he moaned.

"Sorry, G-man, I didn't know you were scared of water," Johnny apologized.

"Not scared!" the gremlin protested. "Just… un-comfortable."

Mavis didn't care for getting wet either, she debated flying out of the boat and avoiding it altogether, but she didn't want to leave Johnny too far behind. And if he could wade through this and still smile, than so could she.

The floor sloped up quickly, leading the group out of the water and down another tunnel. The gateway they crossed into had the image of a bull's head carved over the archway. Medusa wrung out the hem of her dress and led them down another hallway identical to the last one. The turned right and then left and then right again, each hallway opening up into another, all brick walled and devoid of anything but torches and open doorways.

"I feel like we're stuck in a maze," Johnny sighed, the water in his shoes still squished whenever he walked.

"Technically we are," Mavis unfolded one of Dracula's maps and showed him the two large, concentric circles and the red, squiggly line someone had drawn weaving through it. "The circle in the middle is the Underworld and the outside is the labyrinth. If you don't know exactly how to solve it you'll either get lost or loop back to the start."

"I guess it discourages unwanted visitors," Johnny squinted at the map, mentally trying to untangle the twists and turns they had already taken to try and figure out where they were. "How do you keep all this straight without a map?" he addressed Medusa.

"What? The labyrinth?" Medusa waved him off like it was nothing. "I grew up here, kid. I know my way around."

She had said it like she'd intended to end the conversation there but Johnny lapped it up with a naïve, but nevertheless genuine, interest. "You grew up here? Dude, that's awesome. Was it always this spooky? Did you ever get lost?..."

"No. Well, not today, at least," Medusa said, pushing back a stone panel that swung back like a door.

Crossing through that door was like walking into a completely different atmosphere, like diving suddenly into the ocean. Suddenly there was open air and noise and movement and life. Blank walls were plastered almost completely with posters and drawings and notices. Torches became lampposts. Houses and shops layered the streets. Most remarkable of all were the monsters, all sizes and colors congregated into a crowd that could fill the Transylvania hotel several times over.

If the labyrinth was difficult to navigate due to everything looking the same, finding your way through the Underworld itself would be challenging for an entirely different reason. Everything was crowded. Trolls and centaurs and rakshasa demons and ogres crossed streets reading newspapers and drinking coffee and bickering. Most of them were too wrapped up in what they were doing to even notice the four travelers, but Mavis saw several who stepped aside or crossed the street or covered their children's eyes after noticing Medusa. And Medusa never reacted to anyone in the slightest. She moved straight ahead, weaving only occasionally to get out someone's way.

Mavis quickened her pace till she walked side by side with the gorgon. "Can I ask you something?" she said softly.

"Shoot." Medusa shrugged.

"What would you have done if Johnny hadn't mentioned Echidna?"

"Pardon?"

"You let him go because he already knew about monsters, right? What if he hadn't? What would you have done?"

Medusa shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, walking a bit more stiffly, more slowly. "I wouldn't have hurt him, if that's what you mean."

"But you wouldn't have let him go?" Mavis prodded.

"Look, kid, I don't know what to tell you. Out here's a bit different than what you've got up in the mountains. It's a lot harder to hide and stay hidden. There are lot of monsters here and not nearly enough space and we don't have any forests to retreat to. This is it. I do what I have to do to keep my place unknown, even if I have to play the scary-monster-with-a-weapon card."

"But why show yourself at all?" Mavis asked, brow furrowed. "If you hadn't shot at him we never would've known you were living there…"

"You'd also still be stuck loafing around there with no way to leave, wouldn't you?" Medusa countered.

Echidna and Typhon had a large house near the center of the Underworld, where the caverns opened up to reveal the night sky and the front door was quite literally always open. It was rumored that the entire city was built around that house as more and more monsters chose to hide from humans there. Every monster knew them; in fact, every monster had probably lived with them at some point. They were the mother and father of all monsters, and they'd earned the reputation well. There were usually at least half a dozen children living with them. And when those children grew up and had children of their own those grandchildren would mingle and play with the new young ones the pair had taken in. And even those who hadn't grown up in that house would often stop by for advice from the ageless monsters or a place to hide for a few days.

Knowing this, it shouldn't have surprised Mavis at all that when they showed up at the front door Echidna took one startled look at Medusa and then enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Ma!" Medusa sputtered, "Ma, knock it off!"

Mavis exchanged a glance with Johnny, whose eyes were only slightly less wide open than his mouth. The damage a single hug could do to someone's unaffected loner persona was apparently quite extensive.

Echidna was a lamia. She was human looking from the waist up but from the waist down her body tapered off into the tail of a snake. Most of the snake part was coiled under her, boosting the rest of her body several inches higher than the rest of them as her thick arms held Medusa off the ground, bare feet kicking helplessly.

"You didn't tell us you were her daughter!" Johnny exclaimed.

"It didn't come up," the gorgon shrugged as best she could with both arms still pinned to her sides.

Echidna suddenly registered that there were three other people standing on her doorstep. "Oh, you've brought the kids!" she gave a relieved sigh and released Medusa. The gorgon crossed her arms, as if she unconsciously wanted to hide inside her bulky jacket.

"Is that Mavis? Oh my goodness," Echidna took the vampire by both hands, "Last time I saw you, you were only this big," she lifted her hands to show her. "We were there for your first birthday. My how time flies."

Mavis grinned. "It's good to finally meet you, Echidna. Well, officially." She gestured at Johnny. "This is my boyfriend, Johnny."

"It's a pleasure, dear," Echidna glanced appraisingly at him, her eyes stopping at the painted stitches at his neck. "That's funny, Vlad led me to believe that you were a human."

Johnny felt his face heat with embarrassment, though he wasn't entirely sure why. "I am. I just… I like the outfit, y'know. It's comfortable." He leaned against the door frame, trying to look at ease.

Gus rolled his eyes and ate a flowerpot in the corner. No one was paying him any attention anyhow.

"He didn't want to start a riot so he wore a disguise," Mavis explained, her distaste at the idea almost tangible.

Echidna nodded in understanding. "I can't blame you for that, sweetie. But you won't be needing any disguises here, I won't have any riots in my house."

Just as she said it a crash followed by a loud wail sounded from inside. A little harpy with wings barely a foot long raced to Echidna on chubby legs, hiding behind the monster's large tail. An even smaller puppy with not one, but three heads quickly pursued her.

"Grandma…" the harpy whined, "Cato's trying to eat my wings!"

"Was not," the puppy barked in triplicate.

"Was too."

"She was pulling my ears!"

"Was not."

"Was too."

A large snake tail similar to Echidna's lifted the puppy off the ground and a massively tall monster appeared to separate the two children.

"Oh, Ty," Echinda addressed her husband, "the kids made it!"

"That's a relief, we were about to send out a search party," Ty smiled. And then he noticed Medusa and nearly dropped the growling puppy. "Medusa! You're here?"

"Just dropping them off," the gorgon adjusted her glasses. "Skipper here crash landed on my island," she gestured to Gus.

The gremlin sniffed in offense. "It was a controlled, emergency landing."

"Well since you're here you can stay for breakfast," Echidna said to Medusa.

"Ma, you know that's not a good idea."

"Nonsense, Medusa, it's just breakfast."

"You've got the kids here," Medusa hissed.

"Only a few," Echidna jinxed herself once more. A little crowd of monster children, many no more than three feet tall, swept into the hall like a miniature version of the Underworld streets. All of them were shouting variations of "Ma" and "Dad" and "Grandma" with various complaints, mostly about the television remote going missing and breakfast not being finished. A few of them tugged at the hem of Mavis's dress and Johnny tried to pet a chimera before it's dragon head blew a lick of fire at his fingers.

Medusa backed out the door in the chaos. "I've got to take care of some things at home, anyway," she said in a rush.

"Medusa," Ty began in a low, commanding voice, but he was late. She had already disappeared down the street.

"Who was that?" asked the little harpy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Greek mythology nerd time!
> 
> Labyrinth: The idea of the city being surrounded by a labyrinth I borrowed from the myth of the Minotaur, a massive half-man half-bull creature who was caged in a labyrinth by King Minos and feasted on young tributes who were sent into the labyrinth as sacrifices (Minos was kinda messed up). Caves and tunnels have been uncovered in Crete that might have once been part of a labyrinth, particularly a site that the German army used to store ammunition during WWII.
> 
> Echidna: In Greek mythology she's known as the mother of all monsters. She and Typhon's children included the Nemean lion, Ceberus (the three-headed dog that guarded hades), Hydra, Sphinx, Chimera, in some cases gorgons, the list goes on. She is usually described as a lamia, sometimes she also has wings and two snake tails instead of one. Typhon was reportedly huge, like mountain-sized, had hundreds of vipers in place of legs and other such craziness, I toned him down a bit for this story. In one myth he defeated Zeus by cutting off the sinews from his hands and feet, rendering him unable to throw his thunderbolts. Hermes eventually recovered Zeus's sinews and the god cast Typhon into Tartarus. His rumbling from within Tartarus was said to create stormy winds and weather, and it's possible we derive the word typhoon from him.


	6. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Norbert was originally gonna be Norberta, Hagrid's adopted pet dragon from Harry Potter, but I decided against it, partly because I needed a different personality and partly because I had already added a bunch of females (how did that happen?). I still liked the name so I kept that.
> 
> -Hecate has been known as many things: the goddess of mothers, childbirth, the wilderness, crossroads, the elements, Queen of the Dead, Queen of the Night, etc. She was not originally a Greek goddess but was added into their pantheon possibly from a popular cult in Thrace. She is commonly associated with witchcraft and magic and is a major figure in modern Wicca practices. Hecate embodies three forms, (the maid, mother, and crone) connected symbolically with the phases of the moon and phases of female age. She is associated with dogs and wolves, sometimes even able to take on the form of a dog or having a dog head and other such craziness.

 

Dracula was down to the last applicant for the chef job. He was a young dragon named Norbert, a bit on the smallish, serpentine side of the dragon family and possessing all the experience of a hatchling being pushed out of his nest for the first time. However he did have good availability and a glowing recommendation, probably from a teacher, and no noticeable cannibal tendencies he could see.

"I can provide my own fire," Norbert offered helpfully. "And I know all about temperature regulation and…"

Dracula was debating whether to cut the boy off and just tell him got the job when the phone rang. He scrambled to pick it up.

"Dad?" Mavis's voice echoed across the line.

"Babyclaws, how are you?" the vampire glanced across the desk to find Norbert staring at him with wide, worried eyes. Dracula covered the receiver with one hand, "You got the job," he said to the dragon.

"I did?"

"You did. Congratulations. Orientation's on Friday." Dracula said.

"Oh," Norbert's eyebrows raised as he slowly realized the vampire was serious. "Oh, thank you! Thank you Mister Dracula, er… Count, I mean." He reached over and shook the Count's hand emphatically.

"Yes, um, Norbert," Dracula stammered, "Would you mind…" he gestured at the phone.

Norbert released his hand and backed away. "Yes, of course. I'll see you Friday!" He zipped out of the office, breaking into a kind of twisting dance in the hall.

"Dad, are you there?" Mavis shouted.

"Yes, sorry, darling. I was just talking to the new chef."

"You've finally hired someone!" Mavis sounded pleased.

"Had to. He was the last person who applied."

"Oh, Dad," Mavis sighed.

"I think he'll work out, better than most of the others anyway," Dracula admitted. "How are you and Johnny? _Where_ are you and Johnny?"

"We made it to Echidna's just now."

Dracula collapsed into his chair in relief. He didn't want to admit how keyed up the last day had made him. An early emergency landing wasn't the worst scenario he had imagined, and he had imagined quite a few horrible situations, but the knowledge that it had worked out lifted a huge weight off him.

"So you and Johnny are alright? I was so afraid you'd get lost."

"We had a little help," Mavis quickly explained how they had met Medusa and arrived at the Underworld. Dracula listened intently, his grip tightened.

"Mavis, I don't want you exploring outside the city anymore," he said.

"Dad…" Mavis's voice pitched dangerously, like she was preparing herself for an argument.

"I'm serious," Dracula interjected. "Whether they mean to be or not gorgon's are dangerous. If there are more of them out there…"

"I don't think there were, Dad, I think she was alone," Mavis thought back to the little island, the tense walk down the street, the awkward reunion with Echidna, "Did you know she was Echidna's daughter?"

"What?"

"Yeah, it was really strange. We got there and Echidna gives her this huge hug. It was like they hadn't seen her in a hundred years. And then she bolted at the first opportunity."

Dracula frowned, it was hard to keep track of Echidna's children since there were so many, some of them older even than he was, but he never remembered a gorgon daughter. He couldn't recall even a mention of a gorgon daughter. It didn't mean that it wasn't true; it was completely within Echidna's personality to take in a gorgon despite the obvious risk. Medusa must've grown up and left long before he and Martha had met Echidna.

But how would they manage raising a houseful of children with something that they couldn't look at without being turned to stone? Mavis said she wore glasses that seemed to counteract that power, which certainly would help. It didn't seem to explain Medusa's behavior around them, though.

"I don't think she'll be back soon, if that's what you're worried about," Mavis offered.

"Who'll be back?" Jonathan's voice mumbled from a distance.

"Medusa."

"You think she'll be back?"

"No, I was telling Dad I _didn't_ think she'd be back so he didn't have to worry."

"She wasn't so bad. I kind of liked her."

"You like everyone, Johnny."

"We wouldn't be here now if she hadn't helped us."

Mavis gave a tired sigh like they had had this conversation a few times already. "Anyway, Dad, there's nothing for you to be worried about," she said pointedly trying to change the subject. "Echidna's going to show us around today."

"Sounds like fun," Dracula said, "I won't keep you then, honey."

"Ok, Dad, I'll call you later."

"Alright, Pumpkin, be careful."

"I will."

"I miss you." For a moment he felt a bit silly saying it considering she had technically only been gone a day.

"I miss you, too." Mavis repeated.

* * *

Echidna led them all around the shops like a proud mother. She knew absolutely everyone and everyone knew her. They had already seen most of the streets due to their journey with Medusa earlier but the atmosphere walking with Echidna made the place seem a bit warmer and friendlier. Monsters stopped to say hello or shake their hands instead of avoiding them. Jonathan and Mavis felt welcome instantly. They dropped Gus off at the little aviation center near the cliffs so he could get a start on fixing and recovering his plane. They ate lunch at pizza parlor run by a plump ogre and toured the small park where a group of children were racing homemade go-karts. By the time they started to head back the pair had met so many new monsters they couldn't possibly keep any names straight.

And then they ran into Hecate.

She was walking side-by-side talking with a wolf that walked on all fours instead bipedal the way werewolves did back in Transylvania. Echidna stopped short and ushered them towards the other side of the courtyard, as if she was planning on avoiding the woman altogether. It didn't work and she spotted them anyway.

"Hello Echidna," she said brightly as she made her way over to them. She was impossible to forget, as she was the most stunningly human looking monster Jonathan had seen so far. In fact, the only thing about her appearance that would turn a head in the human world was her long, snow-white hair that nearly brushed the ground and a kind of unearthly, smoky look to her eyes.

"Hello Hecate," Echidna nodded with a somewhat cold politeness. She introduced Mavis and Johnny before quickly explaining she was just showing them around.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hecate said warmly, "I take it your father couldn't make it," she addressed Mavis.

"Yeah, he doesn't like to leave home," Mavis paused and then quickly added, "He has a lot to do, running the hotel and everything."

Hecate smiled a long, red line that contrasted sharply against her pale face. "Well the two of you should talk him into taking a little rest bit when you get back. He works so hard making sure other people have a nice vacation surely he deserves one of his own."

"Could not agree more." Johnny replied.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your tour. I only wanted to ask Echidna if you received my letters?"

"Yes, Hecate, I did." Echidna gave an almost imperceptible sigh. "All of them. I don't think now is the best time…"

"No, of course not, we should talk it over later. My place. Lunch tomorrow, perhaps?" Hecate asked thoughtfully. "The two of you are welcome to come, of course."

"That's not what I…" Echidna began.

Hecate interrupted by pulling out a silver flask and guiding the water out of it into a small, reflective pool that hovered in the air in front of them like a floating mirror.

"Whoa, neat trick!" Johnny exclaimed, touching the gravity defying water tentatively with a finger. His reflection rippled. Mavis had been around magic of sorts much more than he had and even she hadn't seen anything quite like that.

Hecate waved a graceful hand over the pool and an image appeared of a narrow house, pale as the moon. A single tower stretched from the back of the building ending in a long point like a spindle. "This is my house," she said. Then she turned and pointed to the cluster of buildings behind them. "It's in the direct center of the Underworld, you can see the spindle from anywhere. Please, feel free to come by whenever you wish." She guided her water back into its container before turning once more to Echidna. "We'll talk later, I trust?"

"We'll see."

* * *

"What was that all about?" Mavis asked as soon as they were out of Hecate's earshot.

Echidna shook her head and continued to usher them on. "Hecate is a very good witch, one of the best, but she wants me to approve a spell of hers that I don't care for. She's been awfully persistent about it as well. You should see the stack of letters." The lamia rolled her eyes.

"What's the spell?" Johnny asked. The witch had seemed perfectly friendly to him; it couldn't be anything that awful, could it?

"Some kind of cloaking spell," Echidna sighed. "You'd have to ask her for the details, I really can't explain how it would work."

"She wants to make this place invisible?" Johnny reigned in his instinct to exclaim how cool that sounded. He didn't want to offend the monster by latently disagreeing with her.

"Wouldn't that help with security? Dad would probably make the hotel invisible if he could. It would be better than the haunted forest at keeping people out." She elbowed Johnny meaningfully in the ribs to show that she was kidding.

"That's just my problem with it. It would make this place impossible to find. We're already nonexistent to the rest of the world, the last thing we need is to cut ourselves off further from each other. What if no new monsters could find this place? What would they do?" Echidna's grey eyes narrowed. "As long as I don't approve of it Hecate won't be able to cast the spell here. And I don't care what she does to try and persuade me, it won't work."

* * *

Medusa was kneeling in the middle of a lettuce patch, cutting leaves that had gotten large enough and checking for heads that were ready for harvest. Her glasses hung folded by the strap around her neck.

She gathered up her spoils and slid down the hill to her little corner of the world. It was a dry cave pocketed into the hillside like a spoonful dug out of a scoop of ice cream. It was dark, even at broad daylight, and had gotten so overgrown with wild vegetation over the years it was hard to tell it was even there. As were most things in the monster world.

The largest piece of furniture she owned was an iron wood-burning stove she'd had since the 1860s. It had taken quite a bit of work to carve a sizeable hole through the roof of her cave for the chimney to fit through but the stove had served her well ever since. She started the fire, set some water to boil, and began peeling and cutting a few potatoes. She reached over for a new one and suddenly realized when it burst in a messy goo that she had accidentally cut open a raw egg.

"Distracted are we, Medusa?" she chastised herself. She stabbed the knife into her cutting board in frustration and cleaned up the egg.

"It's not anything worth being distracted about, it was just a kid and a vampire. It doesn't mean anything. Least of all anything that concerns you…"

Some ideas take awhile to grow into something, and some ideas appear unexpectedly like lightning. The idea plaguing Medusa had shot into her consciousness the moment she realized she had truly met a vampire. And as with many spontaneous ideas, she had no concept of how feasible it was, nor did she have anyone to bounce it off of to see if she had well and truly lost her mind this time.

"It probably wouldn't work," she told herself. "It's probably just misled human folklore like so many other things… Vampires turning other people into vampires… it sounds like a paranoid yutz came up with it. They could just be born that way. The little girl was probably always that way, and if she wasn't she probably would've turned the boy if she could. It would solve so many problems…"

She stared into water pot, watching the bubbles roll and pop at the surface. She scratched at her scalp and let out a huge sigh. Her reflection and a dozen snakes glared intently back at her.

It would solve so many problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chef position is finally filled, Echidna shows Mavis and Johnny around and they run into Hecate the sorceress. Medusa comes upon a strange idea.


	7. A Dull Little Ache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dracula remembers Martha.

Martha was playing a lively tune on the harpsichord when he entered the drawing room. Dracula mentally counted it as a blessing. It meant she was in a good mood.

"Good evening, darling," he lightly kissed her cheek, careful not to disturb her hands as she played.

"Good evening," she replied without breaking the music.

He pulled up his chair, sitting back and thumbing through the newspaper with feigned interest. It was difficult to focus on reading. The words began to swim if he stared at the page too long. He lost his place several times glancing back and forth from the paper to his wife to the candelabra to the sizeable bump that now showed at her middle and back to the paper.

"Is anything wrong?" Martha asked coolly.

"No. Of course not. Don't be silly." Dracula waved her off. He crossed his legs then quickly thought better of it and uncrossed them again.

"Any interesting news?" she asked.

"What news?"

"In the paper."

"Paper?"

"Yes, the paper. The one you've been pretending to read," she eyed him pointedly.

He finally put the message together. "It's just… pointless gossip, court scandals, Duke eloped with a scullery maid, the usual. Nothing interesting," he babbled, hands gesturing animatedly.

"Hmm…" Martha straightened. Her dainty fingers flew over the keys. "Anything interesting in the mail?" she asked, staring straight ahead.

Dracula fidgeted nervously. "Frank wrote us from London."

"I know, I read it yesterday. Anything new?"

"Nope. No, nothing at all."

"Then why did I find these in the fireplace," Martha had abruptly stopped playing and was holding up a small handful of torn parchment. The pieces were no more than a few inches long and slightly charred around the edges but even from a distance Dracula could still make a few words out. He mentally kicked himself. He needed to find a way to supernaturally disintegrate those things if bits were going to escape a fire.

"Dracula, what was it?" she asked again, growing impatient. "And don't lie to me either."

"I wasn't…"

"You never fidget more than when you lie, Drac," she said plainly, as if it were some universally accepted truth. "You start talking with your hands…" she gave a few graceful gestures to show what she meant.

A dark cloud enveloped the vampire and he stood, turning his back to her to stare out the narrow window. The paper crumpled forgotten in his hands.

"Was it a threat?" Martha's voice grew quiet, worried. She already knew the answer.

"I didn't want to frighten you." Dracula admitted. It was much easier to talk about his motives for destroying the letter rather than its contents.

"You trying to hide this frightens me," she said softly. "Watching you anxious and worried all the time and you won't tell me why, that frightens me. You shouldn't have to handle things like this all by yourself."

"I'm trying to protect you."

"Keeping me unaware of the problem isn't protecting me." The bench squeaked as she stood and he felt her approach. He couldn't look at her.

"We need to leave. Every time one of their kind is sick they blame us. It's only a matter of time…" he trailed off, afraid of even finishing the sentence.

Martha let out a shaky breath. They both knew the practical likelihood of being able to move again in this climate and with her pregnant was slim. And it would most likely spread the hysteria to the next human village rather eradicate it. "We need a place just for monsters," she thought aloud. "Far enough that humans won't feel threatened and close enough that we won't be cut off from each other."

"There wouldn't be a problem if they just left us alone," Dracula remarked bitterly.

"Their fear is not entirely unjustified," she reminded him gently.

Dracula grew quiet. His shoulders dipped low and the cape fell, covering him completely.

Martha placed her hand on his arm. "Drac?" When he didn't respond she maneuvered around to face him. "Hey, no hiding in the cape," she said, tenderly taking him by the collar. She parted the fabric and slowly snaked her arms around his waist. Her head came to rest against his shoulder and he responded, pulling her close until the cape had cocooned them both.

"I'm sorry," he spoke into her hair. "You were right, I should have told you about the letter."

"It's not just the letter," she murmured, pulling back just far enough to look him in the eye. "I know you want to do all the worrying so I don't have to, but… you aren't alone here. I love you. The last thing I want is for you to feel alone."

Sometimes having the painting in his bedroom was a bad idea. It was hard to sleep with their image hanging so close, a happy couple, just married, blissful, naïve. Even with the coffin lid shut he knew they were there. Sometimes he would cover his half of the painting and just focus on her face, imagining she was still in the room. Maybe he was simply terrified of forgetting what she looked like.

Most of the time he didn't dwell on the past. At least not consciously. The past would remain the past, no matter what he did, and he didn't like thinking of Martha as an event that happened and was now over. Thinking of her in present terms made it seem like he could carry her identity with him. Martha is compassionate. She loves her daughter. She's always with him. She's listening. He didn't think about what she did or said, how they met or where they traveled or the things they fought about.

He distracted himself with things to do, events to plan, and most importantly, a daughter to raise. Mavis was his entire world. He couldn't lose himself to anger or sorrow or fear or hopelessness when she needed him, and so he channeled those emotions into keeping her safe. It was probably for the best that he didn't indulge in memories very much around Mavis, even when she wanted him to. He didn't want her to feel the grief that he did.

"The last thing I want is for you to feel alone."

But now that he was coming to terms with the fact that she was grown up, it was harder to keep the memories in check. He needed something to focus on, but there really wasn't much for him to do anymore. The hotel was running slowly but smoothly, his daughter was miles away but safe and having a good time, the boy with her was unusual but caring…

And he was left with a dull little ache, something between a tired muscle and an old, scarring wound, that crept into his heart every time a fresh memory resurfaced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Vampires and illnesses: There is a theory that vampire folklore evolved from societies trying to explain various illnesses that science hadn't uncovered yet. These might've included things like Porphyria, tuberculosis, cholera, and *wait for it...* rabies. Tuberculosis in particular was widespread during the Victorian era, which is a contagious disease that would slowly infect entire communities to the point that people believed their dead loved ones were draining the life of their former families. Dracula the novel is largely about the shift between understanding science and the supernatural, and vampirism itself is portrayed much like an infectious disease. It made me think that the village could be moved to fear and riot out of spreading diseases they suspected vampires of causing rather than anything they had actually done.


	8. A Vanishing Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hecate shows Mavis and Johnny her plans for the future of the monster world.

Mavis woke up with a variety of little eyes and noses fixed on her from the foot of her bed. Johnny was missing from the twin bed next to hers.

"Um… hi?" she said to the tiny faces. They erupted into a chorus of high-pitched giggles and a few puppy barks and then scrambled out of her room. Mavis shook her head. Kids were weird.

Johnny had apparently been enlisted in a game of tag. She found him outside chasing little monsters with his arms outstretched in a broad approximation of Frankenstein on a rampage. The children raced around his heels, gleefully enjoying the chase as he always stopped just short of catching one.

Mavis leaned against the doorframe, smirking. "Is this the human invasion we were all so scared of?" she quipped.

Johnny startled, just now noticing his girlfriend's presence. "I don't know what you're talking about, for I am clearly a 'Stein'," he gestured to his outfit.

She disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind him a second later. "Not with hair like that, you're not," she hovered over him, heavily tousling his hair until it no longer held it's square shape.

"Hey, not cool!" Johnny shouted, batting his girlfriend away. He broke into a run.

Mavis flew after him, joined by one of the little griffins "Get Johnny!" she shouted. The children squealed in excitement over the new game. The griffin cornered Johnny around several large potted plants long enough for Mavis to knock him onto the ground. She sat cross-legged on his stomach, pinning him down. Little monsters soon swarmed them, after Johnny's hair like ants to honey. He burst out laughing.

"What's all this?" Echidna slithered out from the house, drying her hands on a towel.

"Help! They're destroying my hair!" Johnny yelled, nothing but a blue hand could be seen amidst the sea of youngsters.

"Well, play nice with crockery, I don't want anything broken." Echidna said, nodding at the potted plant.

"No problem," Mavis got up off of Johnny's midsection to keep the nearest pot balanced while Jonathan attempted to sit up.

"Honey," Typhon's booming voice appeared before he did. "The owl came. Said to give you this." He handed an envelope to his wife, who read the front and made a face.

"Another one!" she complained. "Does that woman ever give up?"

"What is it?" Mavis asked.

"Hecate," Echidna held up the letter. "Another invitation begging me to tea or something to listen to her scheme no doubt." She handed the letter to Mavis like it was infested with bubonic plague.

"We'll go!" Jonathan piped up.

"Johnny…" Mavis began in a warning tone.

"What, she invited us, too. Remember?" he said in reference to their earlier meeting with the sorceress. "I want to see how she'd make the city disappear."

Echidna met the boy with a rare, disapproving stare.

"Johnny really enjoys seeing magic," Mavis explained. "Most humans don't practice it, at least not like monsters do. They pull rabbits out of hats and stuff."

"And we can tell her you sent us in your place cuz your so busy, and then she'll know not to send anymore letters," Johnny reasoned.

"I highly doubt that would work," Typhon chuckled. "But I don't see any harm in trying."

Echidna crossed her arms, shooting her husband a look. They stared at eachother for a few moments, communicating without speaking, as if they could read each other telepathically. Finally Echidna dropped her arms with a groan. "Fine, if you kids want to waste your time listening to Hecate rant, I certainly won't stop you. Just try and be back by dinnertime. I don't want to go over there if I can help it."

"Sweet!" Johnny exclaimed, grabbing Mavis by the hand. "C'mon, Mavis!"

"Johnny…" Mavis dug her heels into the ground, forcing him to stop. "Can't this wait until I'm not wearing pajamas…"

They found Hecate's home easily enough. The spindle that marked the roof of her home was impossible not to spot. It directed the eye like a giant pointer up to the sliver of moon that showed through a large crack in the rock caving the Underworld. The house was larger than most and made of some pale limestone that shimmered in the light.

The door was answered, not by Hecate herself, but by the wolf they'd seen with her earlier that walked on all fours. He didn't speak but walked them up a staircase and into a room with several couches, a bookcase, and large, marble pedestal in the center. Hecate was seated in front of another floating water mirror, guiding a brush through her impressively long, white hair.

Her reflection smiled when she saw them enter. "Oh, Mavis and Jonathan, how good of you to come," she stood to greet them, the mirror splashed into a basin at the floor. Her hair fell in a waterfall off her shoulder.

"Echidna sent us," Mavis told her, "she couldn't make it. She's been real busy with the kids…"

"Well that will just give the three of us more time to talk," she responded amiably. She gestured to the wolf and he pushed in a wheeled cart holding an elaborate tea set. Hecate patted the wolf's head and selected a cup. "Care for some Darjeeling? Or chamomile? Have a seat, please, I insist."

The couple obeyed, accepting the drinks solely out of politeness. Mavis rarely drank anything that wasn't blood substitute and Johnny didn't really care for tea.

"Can I get you anything else?" Hecate asked. "Sugar?"

"No, we're fine..." Mavis began.

"Can we see your disappearing spell?" Johnny blurted simultaneously.

"What spell?" Hecate made a face.

"Echidna said something about a cloaking spell," Mavis explained.

"Oh? What did she say about it?" she asked.

"Just that you had some cloaking spell for the city you wanted to talk to her about." Mavis thought it'd be wise not to let Echidna's thorough dislike of the idea enter the conversation.

"I see." Hecate set her cup down with a light clatter. "Would you like me to show you the spell?"

"You can do that? Right now?" Johnny leaned forward excitedly.

"In a manner of speaking," Hecate replied. She opened the curtains, letting in as much moonlight as possible. The wolf pushed in a cluster of large candlesticks and arranged them in a circle around the pedestal.

"Magic is a manipulation of energy," Hecate explained, "Some witches mix potions or use the energy in nature. I harness much of my magic from the moon." She stood in front of the opened window; a rim of light silhouetted her hair and her shadow cast directly over the pedestal. Hecate spread her arms and flame sprung instantly from the wick of each candle.

"Dude," Johnny gaped.

"A simple trick," Hecate said modestly, "Doesn't require much energy. Now, regard the Underworld." She lifted a stone disk onto the pedestal with a variety of shapes rising out of it like blocks, one in the center taller than the rest and narrowing into a sharp needle. The surrounding rock sank like a miniature moat.

"Cool, what is it?" Johnny leaned in for a better look.

"It's a model of the Underworld," Mavis said, pointing at the needle. "See, here we are. Here's Echidna's. And here's the labyrinth," she traced the little maze between the city and the moat.

"Exactly," Hecate replied. "All monster covens have a barrier protecting us from the human world. Your father's hotel, for example, has a haunted forest and a cemetery. The Underworld has the labyrinth. These barriers not only protect us, they keep our world secret. However, physical barriers can only do so much. The Underworld was built at a time before humans had air travel and ships that could sail underwater. I have it on good authority they can even travel to the moon. They've practically conquered the Earth, and it's only a matter of time before their reach extends even to our borders. By that time, our barriers may not be sufficient to hide us."

Mavis exchanged a glance with Johnny. She had heard lectures like this dozens, if not thousands of times before.

"My idea," Hecate continued, "was simply to use magic to further insure the city is protected." She fixed her eyes on the Underworld model and spread her hands over the city, the long sleeves of her dress spread like wings. A little at first, and then more and more steadily, the city started to fade like an old photograph. From the tip of the little spindle all the way down to the pedestal, it finally vanished as if it had never been there at all.

"Even if humans did start poking around the area, it would be impossible for them to find us if they can't see the city. We might even be able to expand construction, build taller houses with more room for more monsters. We wouldn't have to crowd our homes as we do."

"You can do that to the entire Underworld?" Mavis asked.

"I could cast the spell now, if I wanted."

"Then why don't you?" Johnny wondered, waving his hand over the pedestal where the model was once visible.

"A spell of this scale would require all the energy at my disposal, plenty of preparation, probably a full moon. I would be drained for hours. And the biggest snag of all is that it would only last until dawn."

"Dawn?" Johnny asked.

"No more moon." Mavis offered. Johnny nodded in understanding.

"To make the spell permanent would require the cooperation of the entire city," Hecate pulled a great, thick book from its place on the bookcase and unfolded it. The pages were filled with elaborate drawings, ink splatters, and lettering neither Jonathan nor Mavis could read. Hecate fanned the yellow pages until coming upon a particular sketch.

"This is an incantation circle," she traced the outline, giving them time to take in the curled symbols enclosed in the ink drawing. "Carved into the foundation of the Underworld, this would amplify the spell a hundred times over. Carve a spell in stone and it will last forever. Even in sunlight. Of course, in order to carve it many monsters would have to relocate for a short time. Not long, you understand, but in order to ensure the entire city was cloaked properly the circle would have to enclose it entirely."

"So it would put monsters out of their homes?" Mavis asked in thinly veiled cynicism.

"They wouldn't have to go far if everyone agreed to cooperate," Hecate reasoned. "My plan involved dividing the city into sections, and while a section of the incantation circle was being carved the residents of that section would temporarily stay with other monsters in the city until they could move back and so on and so forth until the spell was ready. No one would have to leave, but it would take a small sacrifice from everyone living here."

She shut the book and took a deep breath, preparing herself for something. "That's why I've been so persistent in getting Echidna to agree with my plan. Most everyone here is indebted to her in some way, I know I've been. If she explained this spell was for the good of the city, they would be willing to make the sacrifice to see that it's done. I know it. Could you tell her that for me? Tell her what I've shown you?" she said with dark, pleading eyes. "Any means that would make her understand what I'm trying to do would be helpful."

Johnny looked to Mavis. No matter how much he had committed himself to this wonderful new world and no matter how many times he'd been accepted into it, it wasn't really his place to influence something this big, that effected so many people. He didn't have the head for this kind of thing, anyway. He was much too easy going; he had trouble standing for his own feelings much less someone else's. He didn't have the unwavering earnestness and persuasive ability this kind of popularity play would need. Mavis could pull that off, he thought. And this was a world she fully belonged to. She was clearly the one to be making any decisions.

Mavis was toying slightly with the ends of her gloves. Her eyes were narrowed and restless, her mind clearly not in the room with the rest of them. "I guess we could try talking to her," she said eventually. "I don't know if the little model demonstration will be enough to convince her, though," she confessed.

"You may be right. But we must do the best we can," Hecate rested a companionable hand on the young vampire's shoulder. Her smoky eyes gazed over her light ones thoughtfully. "You remind me so much of your father," she said with a soft intensity. "I imagine you'll be handling that hotel someday soon as well."

Mavis stepped back. "I don't know about that. But thanks, I guess."

"Are you gonna tell her?" Johnny asked Mavis when they were finally out of Hecate's home and safely out of earshot.

"I guess so," Mavis shrugged. "I have no desire to play any endorsement games, which is probably what she wants me to do. But I don't see any harm in telling Echidna what we saw. She can make up her own mind about it."

"There's something kinda iffy about that trick," Johnny said. A group of monsters were playing ball in the street and he walked around them. They didn't even break the game long enough to notice the two walking by.

"You mean other than making an entire city invisible in order to avoid humanity," Mavis said sarcastically.

"Not that." Johnny sighed. "It's probably nothing, but… when a magician in the human world makes a coin or something disappear, usually their next trick is to bring it back."

"I guess the spell is permanent until daylight?"

"Yeah, I guess," Johnny said. "But I also tried touching it when it was invisible and I couldn't feel it."

Mavis's mouth pulled into a straight, black line.

"I don't know if it means anything," he confessed. "I probably just wasn't at the right spot. It just seemed kinda weird."

She narrowed her eyes. "It does."

"Do you think it would work?"

"I don't know. I haven't learned much about magic." Mavis shrugged. "Dad's more of a telepath than a sorcerer, but he'd be able to judge the idea better. Or ask one of the witch maids."

"No, I meant, do you think she'll convince enough people to try it?"

"I'm not sure," Mavis picked at her glove again. "I don't think Echidna's gonna change her opinion on it. If it seems weird to us it'll probably seem weird to her, too. And she might be as stubborn as Dad but she's not as paranoid. I guess it depends if the monsters here trust Echidna more than their fear of humans." She glanced sidelong at her boyfriend's blue freckles, the painted on stitches, and red stack of hair. "It might help things if you ditched the costume, y'know…"

"C'mon, Mavis, I don't want to scare anybody."

"It's not like it's a huge secret anymore, Johnny. Everybody at the hotel knows what you are," her voice started to rise.

"We're not at the hotel. Besides, I like being Johnnystein," he protested.

"I like you being you," Mavis replied. "I like that you're human."

Johnny shoved his hands in his pockets. His sneakers scuffed against the ground. "I guess statistically there'd have to be someone here who does."

Mavis sighed, hooking her arm into his, and decided to leave it be for now.

Hecate watched the vampire and the flesh golem meander down the street from her bedroom window. They were a comforting pair. Two young people that loved each other and yet weren't so wrapped in themselves they couldn't spare a care for their fellow monsters. They made her feel optimistic about the future. If two outsiders to the city were willing to contribute to her plan, than the rest of the city might follow.

She tapped her fountain pen against the desk, contemplating. Echidna would still be a problem. Dracula's daughter would certainly be helpful, but Echidna was known to be stubborn. A few pedestal tricks and the endorsement of a barely legal adult probably wouldn't be enough convince the woman. She needed something bigger. Something that clearly illustrated the benefits of her idea. Something that proved inconclusively that it would be doable.

Her mind made up, she dipped her pen and wrote.


	9. When Privacy is Hard to Come By

Echidna was as swayed by their retelling of Hecate's demonstration as Mavis had predicted. She sat on the front porch with an armful of knitting yarn and half a sweater shaking her head and clicking her tongue the entire time the story was told.

"We've done fine here for hundreds of years," she said once the story was finished. "I see no reason to take such drastic action now. If you ask me, I think she's bored."

"Bored?" Johnny was hanging upside down off the porch railing, blowing bubbles while the children chased them. Mavis was sitting next to him with a vial of nail polish.

"Before the Underworld was built she was the go-to person for spells and charms and things to keep people safe," Echidna explained. "She was one of the main contributors that got the city built, and now that it's pretty much self-sustaining I'd imagine business is kind of slow."

"She certainly seems to have a high opinion of you," Mavis pointed out.

"She just sees me as tool she can use, nothing more," Echidna's knitting needles clicked. "She doesn't understand why I do what I do. She just sees that people trust me and thinks she'll be trustworthy by association."

"I take it you aren't gonna help her then," Typhon appeared from inside the house, taking a seat next to his wife.

"Not a chance, sweetheart," she smirked. "You better be prepared, she'll be trying to talk you into it next."

"She already has," Typhon shrugged his great shoulders. "I told her that she's wasting her time. The last encounter I had with a magic spell burned my right eyebrow off."

Johnny twisted, struggling to look the great monster in the face and not fall off the railing. "What happened to the other eyebrow," he asked, squinting.

"I ain't gonna walk around with one eyebrow. How stupid would that look?" he crossed his arms.

Echidna snickered, "That's code for 'fireplace accident'." Typhon made a face at her.

"Y'know what we should do," Johnny exclaimed, "We should totally have a bonfire! We could make it like a camping trip, tell scary stories, roast marshmallows… do monsters eat marshmallows?"

"Where would we have a bonfire?" Mavis asked. She blew at her nails, drying them.

"We could go to the beach. We've been here almost a week and still haven't gone to any beaches."

"The beach?" Echinda clicked her tongue; "We don't have a beach around here."

"Seriously?" Johnny wriggled, trying to face the lamia. Mavis finally took pity on him and hoisted him up by his collar with her non-painted hand. He was too distracted to thank her. "All these islands around here and you don't have a beach?"

"All that is outside the Underworld," Typhon explained. "It's too risky to go out for too long. And a bonfire is out of the question. It would attract too much attention."

Johnny's face fell.

"Gran'ma look!" one of the little harpies leaped up, ecstatically pointing down the road. "Look, gran'ma, it's the snake lady!"

"Which snake lady, dear?" Echidna asked.

Mavis squinted, scoping her vision as far as she could on the figure moving slowly towards the house. "It's Medusa!" she realized aloud.

"Really," Johnny leaned out of the porch as far as he could go without falling out. Echidna sucked in an audible breath. Typhon moved to get up but his wife held him back with one hand until the gorgon had gotten close enough to the house. Both parents then slid out to greet her, Typhon coming in on her left and Echidna on the right.

"Twice in the same week, isn't this a nice surprise," Echidna marveled.

"Good to see you, Medusa," Typhon clapped her on the shoulder.

The children all piled into a semicircle around them, staring in silence at the gorgon.

Medusa cleared her throat, stiff as a zombie and just as awkward trying to stand there. "Hi, everybody," she said lamely. "I actually came to talk to her," she nodded at Mavis.

"Who? Me?" Mavis put down her nail polish.

"In private. If that's alright," Medusa shrugged gracelessly out of the odd cluster of monsters surrounding her.

"Um…"

"It would only take a couple of minutes…" Medusa assured her.

"Really, Medusa, you can't keep dropping in for two seconds and vanishing whenever…" Echidna began.

"Ma, I'm not in the mood for this argument right now. I'm talking to Mavis," she shot back.

"Well, you're never available to have this argument. Your mother has to take every opportunity she can…" Typhon continued. The two lamia steadily closed in. The Cerberus, sensing a fight about to break, started to bark with two of its puppy heads and the third began gnawing at the hem of Medusa's skirt. The snakes that made up Medusa's hair writhed and hissed angrily. Several more of the children piped up in various unintelligible voices, adding to the noise.

"Would everyone just _shut up!_ " Medusa finally shouted at the top of her lungs.

The tense silence that followed was unbearable.

"I'm sorry," the gorgon sighed, removing herself from the monster cluster entirely and standing directly in front of the porch. "Mavis?"

"I… guess we could talk somewhere," she said slowly, not quite sure what to make of the display she'd just witnessed.

"Good," Medusa replied, her head high and stiff save for the constant ebb and flow of the snakes. "Can I meet you at the labyrinth doors?"

"Why the labyrinth? Can't we just go inside?" Mavis asked.

"I'd prefer not to…" Medusa said lowly, as if she didn't want her family to be receptive even to this conversation.

Johnny piped up with a sudden enthusiasm, "How about your island? It'd be plenty private there."

Medusa suddenly took an offensive stance, pointing a threatening finger at the boy. "I thought we had a deal, kid!"

Johnny raised his hands in surrender. "I know, I know! I didn't tell anybody where it is. I just thought it'd be a good place to go, since it's all deserted and everything. And I may or may not really, _really_ want to see a beach on this trip."

"Johnny…" Mavis sighed, not exactly comfortable inviting herself back to the gorgon's home after she'd been so insistent in getting them out of it.

"What? You know you want to see the ocean, too," Johnny prodded her in the elbow. "Now may be our only opportunity."

"Alright, alright," Medusa groaned, "Whatever you want, we'll go to my island."

Johnny jumped up eagerly. "Great! I'll get my swim trunks."

* * *

Dracula swung open the doors to the kitchen. Half the walls were covered with wafting, charcoal-colored smoke and the other half with some kind of mushy, fleshy goo.

"Norbert!" Dracula yelled.

A metallic clang and a few crashes sounded from somewhere inside the ash cloud. The vampire quickly grew impatient and forced the billow of smoke through the kitchen's air vent in one gesture. Norbert the dragon stood in wide-eyed astonishment amidst an assortment of pots and pans, soot-covered but uninjured.

"Norbert, what in seven hells is going on?"

"Well…Sir, I was… the pig, it was supposed to be roasted and the oven… I don't know what happened, sir…" Norbert's eyes fluttered around the kitchen awkwardly.

"Slow down, Norbert, what happened with the pig?"

"It… exploded. Sir."

"And why did it explode?"

"It must've overheated, sir."

"And why was it not being monitored?"

"I…" the dragon turned his gaze to the floor. "I wasn't watching, Count. I accept full responsibility…"

"What are those?" Dracula interrupted, indicating a large stack of cylinder shaped charcoal pieces that obviously had no connection with the exploded pig.

Norbert scratched at the scales behind one of the ridges that made up his neck. "It was just an experiment. I'd been working on trying different ingredients to go with the mouse jelly wraps that Hunchback's used to serve, but I can't really find anything with a sweet enough consistency to…"

"Norbert, please," the vampire stopped the young dragon from what was clearly shaping into another rambling non sequitur about cooking. "It's been a long night, just… in the future I'd like you to refrain from experimentation. Especially if you haven't completed your regular duties."

"I understand, sir." Norbert bowed gratefully.

"Speaking of duties. Where are the gargoyles?" A few of the waiters hadn't come back since Quasimodo quit, but there were still plenty on staff. There was no reason Norbert should've been left to alone to cope with an accident of this magnitude.

"I believe they're in dining room, Count."

"You believe?" Dracula stared incredulously down at the dragon. The little red fringes that made up his ears folded back slowly.

"Well, uh…"

"Listen, Norbert," Dracula folded his hands behind his back. "The gargoyles are _your staff_ , they aren't just here to wait tables. Give them tasks in the kitchen. Delegate. They are to follow your command. And if you have a problem, you call for me immediately. Do you understand?"

The dragon's eyes widened as if he hadn't realized that was a possibility before. "I understand, sir." He bowed again. "Thank you for your patience."

"It doesn't come regularly, Norbert, I assure you," Dracula muttered, rubbing a spot at his temple that was beginning to ache. "I will send you help to clean up this mess."

"Thank you, sir." Norbert somehow bowed while already in a bowed position, with his head bobbing erratically up and down.

"And Norbert, lay off the bowing," Dracula added before leaving.

He sent a group of maids into the kitchen before heading into his own room and fishing out his phone. He usually waited a few more hours to call Mavis but it had been an aggravating day and he really needed to hear her voice. He hit the button to dial the number and waited for it to ring.

* * *

"So, what is this all about?" Mavis asked, throwing her towel over her shoulder. She and Johnny had both changed into bathing suits; her in her usual black and red striped piece and him in loose, bright yellow and green shorts with the words _Billabong_ written down one leg. Apparently in the human world guys wore shorts like that to swim in and nothing else. Johnny kept his heavy jacket on so he didn't have to paint his entire torso for the walk over and they both brought shoes but nothing else. They would only be gone a couple of hours anyway.

She was walking in tandem with Medusa while Johnny sauntered excitedly ahead a few feet before realizing he had no idea where he was going and doubling back.

The gorgon sighed, "Not now," she maneuvered around a rakshasa demon who hadn't been paying much attention, "Might as well wait till we get there."

Mavis scuffed her converse against the ground. They could not get out of this awkward walk across the city fast enough. She never felt so acutely that dozens of eyes were staring at them, or rather trying not to.

As they approached the entrance to the labyrinth, Mavis noticed a pair of eyes that were boldly, intentionally, staring right at them. She turned her head and noticed the tail end of a wolf racing off into the crowd.

"Is something wrong?" Medusa asked.

Mavis shrugged. "No. No, it's nothing."

* * *

Medusa didn't park the boat in the same concealed harbor she'd shown them last time. Instead, she continued sailing around the little island, too close to the rocky cliffs for Mavis's comfort really, until the rocks opened into a little stretch of flat sandbank. Once they tied the boat and got out, Johnny tossed his jacket into the sand and ran into the waves, taunting, "Last one in is a rotten egg!" until Mavis chased him.

The sea was unlike anything Mavis had ever dreamed of. The brief glimpses she'd gotten on the way to the Underworld had been amazing, sure, but it was nothing compared to being able to stand in the dark, salty water and soak in the vastness of it. The water stretched as far as she could see, mirroring the sky and reflecting the moon above it in rippling patches of light. It was admittedly strange trying to swim in water that was constantly moving and pushing in waves and tasted completely awful.

"This is awesome," Johnny shouted. His teeth chattered.

"You look cold," Mavis laughed.

"Don't...be…silly…" he chattered.

"I guess the sea is a different experience during the day," Mavis reasoned. "We can get out, if you want. I don't want you to get sick again."

"If…you…insi…insiststs…insistttss…" he shivered.

They climbed out of the water and joined Medusa on the sand, calmly carving a little design into the handle of her bow with the smallest knife Mavis had ever seen. Johnny wrapped himself into a towel and then pulled his jacket over it and continued to shudder.

"The water is amazing," Mavis scrubbed her hair with her towel until it was as dry as it could get and then she let it fall back into its usual style. She could still smell the saltwater in her hair and skin.

"Don't you swim?" Johnny asked Medusa.

"I know cold water when I see it, kid." She shook her head in bemusement at Johnny and unzipped her jacket. "Here. Cover your legs," she tossed the jacket in his direction and he fumbled for it. "If you didn't go into the water blue I'd be getting worried," she quipped.

Mavis laid out her towel and sat on it. Her feet well past her ankles were caked with wet sand and she wasn't sure how easily it was going to come off. "Thanks for bringing us here," she told Medusa, "The only water I've ever swam in was the pool back home. This place, the sea… it's amazing."

Medusa only shrugged. "Your welcome, I guess."

"Now that we're here, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Mavis asked.

Medusa turned to the ocean, letting the question hang for a few moments. "Your kind… you have the ability to turn people, make them like you? Make them vampires, I mean." Johnny leaned forward with his legs bundled under his chin.

Mavis looked down to her toes, digging them a little into the sand. "I guess," she said slowly. "Dad says that was why humans were so paranoid around us. They would blame us for making other humans sick, they'd think we were sucking the life out of them one by one to increase our numbers. No self-respecting vampire would do that, though," she assured her.

"Why not? How does it work?"

"I'm not sure… I guess it's pretty painful for the human, though."

"And once you've turned, your abilities change?" Medusa asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't really know how it works," Mavis admitted. "Why do you ask?" she cocked her head at the gorgon.

Medusa picked up her bow, toying with the string. "Just a long shot, I guess. It doesn't matter."

"That's all you wanted to talk to her about?" Johnny asked.

All of a sudden Medusa's head snapped up, each snake nearly standing upright on her head. "Did you hear that?" she whispered, tense.

"I didn't…" Johnny began.

"Shhh… I hear it, too," Mavis grabbed her boyfriend's hand. It was a strange pattering noise. Like a giant centipede with it's hundreds of legs stomping into the ground somewhere deep in the trees.

"What is it," Johnny asked tentatively.

"Some kind of animal?" Mavis guessed.

"No," Medusa stood slowly, clutching the bow. Her snakes all poised in the same direction. "No, there's too many."

Then Mavis saw them. Dozens of lights poking through the trees like little Cyclops eyes. Aimed right at them. Coming closer.


	10. Lights

"Get to the boat!" Medusa barked.

"But what…?" Johnny squinted, barely able to see the little lights winking in the distance that had the gorgon so agitated.

"Boat. NOW!" She yanked Johnny up by his collar. Mavis grabbed his arm and they raced across the sand. The boat rocked heavily as the two clambered inside as fast as they could. Medusa ripped out the knot tying the little speedboat to shore and pushed until the boat was floating freely and she was in water up to her waist.

"Listen to me," she said with a commanding intensity, "You are to take this boat around that cliff there and wait in the rocks out of sight. There is a paddle under the back seat. Do not start the boat. Do not move out of the shadows. Do not make a sound."

"But…" Mavis barely opened her mouth before Medusa gave the boat one last forceful shove and raced out of the water. Mavis gripped the bit of side railing as the boat lurched. "Wait! Medusa…!" The gorgon was already long gone.

"What! What'd I miss? What is going on?" Johnny waved his arms, clearly in panic mode.

"Those lights, I think… humans are on the island," Mavis almost didn't believe her own voice.

"Well, they're probably just lost like we were. Why is she running at them?"

"What did she do to you when she found you wandering around?" Mavis clenched her fists, remembering how it felt when she learned Johnny had been attacked under no provocation and with no way to defend himself. And Medusa had done that just to confront one man, what would she do in a situation with dozens of humans involved?

"I'm going to stop her," Mavis stood, balancing carefully with both feet on the railing, poised and ready to fly. The boat swayed heavily.

"No, Mavis I'm not sure that's such a good idea. You don't even know what's going on…"

"Neither does Medusa, and I don't think she'll stop to ask questions before she starts shooting people. She might hurt them."

At that moment several loud booming noises interrupted the night. Cracks of fire burst between the trees in the distance and Mavis saw several of the lights go out.

"Oh, dude, this is bad," Johnny scrambled onto the backseat, swaying with the boat as it rocked. He stood directly behind Mavis, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "That's gunfire."

"It doesn't change the fact that…"

"It means Medusa isn't the only one shooting. They could hurt you, Mavis."

"Well, you're a human," Mavis pointed out, not really looking forward to the tone the conversation was taking. "Can't you talk to them?"

"It doesn't work like that!" Johnny shot back.

Mavis could feel frustration boiling in her stomach. Johnny seriously couldn't be suggesting they just sit in the boat while members of his kind and a member of hers fought the other. What did that say about them? Weren't they supposed to be the hope that monsters and humans could coexist? If anyone could keep this from turning ugly surely they could.

"Maybe we should do what Medusa said," Johnny said slowly, hesitantly. "Maybe we should hide."

"Y'know, you're starting to sound an awful lot like my father!" Mavis didn't see Jonathan's reaction after she said that. It had come out more bitter and angry than she had really intended it to, but there wasn't much time for apologies or explanations at this point. They'd wasted enough time arguing as it was.

She transformed into her bat form, flapping steadily over Johnny. "Are you coming?" she asked.

Medusa sprinted into the trees, kicking sand in her wake. She removed her glasses, letting them hang from the string around her neck, bouncing as she ran. Without the added shade it was much easier to make out the figures she was moving toward. She'd counted seventeen lights so far and last time she checked her quiver of arrows she'd had an even twenty. She reached one of the taller olive trees on the island and scaled its twisting, gnarled trunk up to the top, laying with her stomach flat against one of the branches and concealing herself in the leaves.

The humans were advancing in one solid group, all in dark, bulky looking armor with large firearms and full helmets that covered their faces. Each helmet had a white, stale light attached the forehead and collectively they illuminated the entire group. Only one man, walking in the center of the group, lacked any kind of intimidating armor. He was wearing an elaborate looking pair of green goggles, a short-rimmed hat, and carrying a long walking cane. He was the only face she could see, and it was a familiar one.

Medusa slid out an arrow, notching it onto the bowstring and pulling it back silently, fixing her eyes on her target, waiting. She let out a breath and fired.

The arrow sliced downward through the air and hit. The goggle-wearing man jumped backwards, staring in shock at the arrow embedded in the dirt that was literally inches from nailing him. The surrounding men leveled their weapons in Medusa's general direction.

"I see you've made some new friends there, Goggles. Good for you," Medusa shouted down sarcastically. "You picked a lousy place to throw a party though. If you ask me…"

"You cannot hide forever, gorgon," Goggles stepped directly onto her arrow, crunching it underfoort. "If you come out now, I may consider letting you keep your head."

"How generous of you," Medusa rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I may not be so lenient in a few moments, I'd suggest you show yourself."

"How exactly did you talk seventeen people into joining your little vanity project, Goggles? Charisma?"

"Last chance, gorgon," Goggles raised his voice and his face went red, clearly reaching the end of his patience. "Will you come out?"

Medusa leaned back against her branch. She pulled at a few olives until they came off the tree into her hands and she popped one into her mouth. "Nah, I think I'm good."

The movement in the olive tree did not go unnoticed. "There! Shoot there!" Goggles shouted.

Medusa jumped down from the tree just as the shots rang out. They had aimed too high, cutting through several of the smaller, lighter branches and those came crashing down. Leaves fell over Medusa like rain. She plastered herself against the tree's trunk and in a flash let three arrows loose, only glancing around the tree just long enough to find her target. Once she'd heard the three men fall she shouldered her bow and took off into the night, Goggles shouting some kind of expletive after her.

She knocked over a few statues she passed by. A human's night vision usually weren't as good as hers and hopefully that might cause one to trip. The trees got thicker down the slopes at her left which would offer more cover, but that also led back to her home and so Medusa kept to the right. The trees grew much shorter and stockier, but the rock formations also got taller and rougher. She spotted a large enough overhang jutting out of the rock about fifteen feet off the ground and started climbing. The humans were noisy, making all sorts of heavy thumping, scraping sounds as they ran after her and Medusa judged they were at least a minute out of range.

Hand over hand, she pulled herself up the face of the rock as quickly as she could. There were several smaller ledges leading up to the larger one like a ladder, only there was a huge gap just before her target ledge that she doubted the humans would be able to reach in their bulky suits. She had spent hundreds of years climbing rocks and trees, she knew how to maneuver up. There were enough small cracks in the stone to use as hand and footholds and Medusa was soon crawling to the ledge.

She was looking for another foothold when a loud whistling made her look up. A nightingale was passing overhead, and the instant Medusa looked up it froze, dropping out of the sky like a rock. The gorgon reacted, using an arm to try and knock the stone bird away from her as it fell. She was a touch too slow and the bird struck her, causing her grip to loosen and she fell back first off the rock wall to a smaller ledge below in an awful thud.

Medusa groaned. Everything stung and her vision went fuzzy for a second. Her head was hanging off the rock ledge she'd landed on, making everything look upside down. Her bow dug into her back. She had scrapes all up and down the arm that had tried to block the bird and also her opposing knee. When she finally sat up her right shoulder stung violently. She reached to touch it and her hand came back wet and red.

The nightingale lay a few feet below, badly cracked and one wing broken off completely. Medusa got her breathing under control and found her glasses around her neck. She put them on, adding another layer of shade to the night.

The crashing noises of the humans were getting uncomfortably loud and close. Medusa scrambled to her feet. She was running out of time. She backed up as far as she could go and then ran forward, springing off the rock she was on and stretching her reach as much as possible.

She managed to hook one arm onto the elusive ledge, her legs swinging haplessly under it. There was a noisy rustling through the bushes and a shot rang out, exploding in the rock just inches above Medusa's head. Groaning through the pain in her shoulder, she gritted her teeth and pulled herself at long last onto the ledge. She lay plastered behind a boulder, letting the gunshots volley around her.

She removed her bow from her shoulder. It was badly cracked down the handle from her unfortunate fall. There was a strong likelihood it wouldn't hold together if she tried to shoot with it. Medusa pulled back at the string and the bow splintered. She dropped her head against the boulder, trying not to panic. She'd been through worse, hadn't she?

The gunshots had died down and Medusa dared a peek around her boulder. The humans had lined up single file about thirty feet from her rock formation. There were still seventeen of them. Goggles stood behind the row and motioned for them to stop.

"Ready to come out, gorgon," he said, removing his hat in mock politeness.

Medusa took a steadying breath. "Why don't you come up here and get me," she shouted back aggressively.

Goggles got strangely stiff and his hat dropped. It was difficult to tell what he was looking at behind those green glasses but Medusa looked up and quickly discovered what it was.

A bat with huge, blue eyes flapped over her head. "Medusa, don't shoot, it's me!" she shouted.

It took Medusa a second before she placed the voice. "Mavis?" she squinted behind her glasses.

"You need to stop this," Mavis said passionately.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Medusa yelled. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Up here," Johnny called. When Medusa looked up she could barely see his unruly red hair poking out from behind the rocks above.

"What do you think you're doing? Get back to the boat, now, both of you!" she commanded.

Mavis transformed, hovering over the boulder Medusa was hiding behind. The goggled man gasped.

"Humans, you don't have to fight us. We're not going to hurt you," she faced the armored figures, holding out her open hands and trying not to look threatening.

"Mavis, get down from there," Medusa hissed.

Mavis stared down the gorgon. "Not until you promise to stop. You don't have to fight each other…"

She was cut off by a loud, exploding crack. Mavis jolted, swaying dangerously atop the boulder. Her hands went reflexively to her stomach. Jonathan screamed her name.

Medusa yanked the girl down by her shoulders and out of the human's sight. She grabbed a stone the size of an orange and hurled it at the human who had fired. It cracked against his helmet and he went down.

Mavis sat up slowly. There was a sharp, stinging pain at her stomach and when she looked to see what it was she found a small hole in her bathing suit, steadily darkening with blood.

Dracula frowned and hit the button to redial once more. Sure, Mavis didn't always pick up right when he called, but someone usually did after the third or fourth call. He told himself it was probably nothing. They were probably out of the house and didn't bring the phone. Or they were out eating. Or playing loud music so they couldn't hear the ring.

He told himself he shouldn't panic. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Johnny half-climbed half-fell down to the ledge where Mavis lay.

"Oh God, Mavis," he breathed. He gingerly held her head; her eyes were glazed over and unfocused. "Mavis, are you okay? Tell me you're okay!"

She blinked several times, finally seeming to notice his presence. "I think so," she said softly. She looked down at her stomach. The hole in her suit was actually punctured deep into her stomach and it burned horribly. Before she could appropriately start to panic an odd numbing feeling kicked in and she noticed the hole was starting to close. The skin pulled together and a little piece of metal popped right out of her as the wound sealed. Mavis picked it up and examined it.

"Whoa…" Johnny stared unabashedly at her. "Did you just… fix yourself?"

"Holy rabies…" Mavis breathed, turning the tiny, bloody bullet over in her hands. "Holy rabies, those guys shot me with this!"

"Yeah they did," Medusa knelt next to her. "You alright, kid? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four," Mavis replied.

"Lucky guess. How many now?"

"I'm okay. I can see fine," Mavis sighed.

"Are you still there, gorgon!" a rough voice called from below.

"No, I swam to Africa. Whadda you want, Goggles?" Medusa shouted back, her voice raspy and angry.

"We were unaware you were harboring a vampire. If you came down, I might be willing to strike a compromise. Some kind of trade? I get the vampire and you get your head. That sort of thing."

Mavis's eyes grew wide and her skin ice cold, at least more so than usual. Johnny held her tightly by the shoulders. Mavis leaned into him tried not to notice how badly he was trembling.

"We can fight back," he said in a small voice.

Medusa held up her broken bow in response.

"We can drop the boulder," Mavis suggested. It was significantly larger than any of the humans and probably quite heavy. Between the three of them they could probably push it off the ledge.

"They're too far away. Even Goggles would have enough sense to be able to dodge that." Medusa replied quietly.

The couple sat in harrowing silence, well aware that behind her dark glasses the gorgon was staring at them, contemplating. Suddenly she began pulling at the hem of her dress, popping out the stitches and ripping a long, thin strip out of the fabric.

"What're you…" Mavis began.

"Tie this over your eyes," Medusa held out one length of fabric to her and another to Jonathan.

"We are not going down there," he said, holding tighter to Mavis.

"I have an idea, just play along," Medusa continued to hold out the fabric, waiting. Mavis exchanged an uncertain glance with Johnny. The very last thing she wanted to do was go down there, even knowing gunshots couldn't hurt her. Johnny wouldn't have the same invulnerability. And she didn't want to trust anyone else with his safety, but she couldn't see any other option.

She reluctantly took the fabric from Medusa and tied it around her head like a blindfold.

"Mavis…" Johnny began in a concerned tone.

"We don't have much of a choice, Johnny," she told him.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Medusa said dryly. She grabbed at her cracked bow and tied another scrap of fabric over the break, hiding it.

The blindfolds covered their eyes completely; even if the fabric was a little thin the fact that it was dark out anyway made it impossible to see anything. Medusa tied Johnny's left hand to Mavis's right with her belt. The ends of the blindfolds were long, and Medusa grabbed them lightly with one hand.

"Okay, we're gonna walk down together. Just follow me and play along," she said. "And when I tell you to run, do it. Run and don't look back."

Mavis and Jonathan's regular clothes lay in separate piles on their beds. The only noise in the room was the cell phone vibrating against the nightstand. Over and over.

Medusa carefully approached the row of humans, Mavis and Jonathan towed behind her by the ends of their blindfolds. Her bow was slung over her shoulder and her glasses hung around her neck.

Johnny stumbled a little and Mavis grabbed his arm for stability. Or at least a semblance of it. This whole situation was so far beyond her and everything had happened so fast. The conflict between humans and monsters had always seemed so distant and harmless before. They had been nothing but stories. Even when she thought her father's fake village was indeed real it hadn't scared her that badly. She was more sad and disappointed in the humans than anything else. But now she was right in the middle of something real. These were real humans with real weapons that attacked her the moment she showed herself. Her ears were still ringing from the sound of that gunshot.

And now she and Johnny were being led blind by a woman who very well might turn them over to the humans trying to kill her. She squeezed Johnny's arm nervously.

They staggered awkwardly into Medusa before realizing that she'd stopped. She pushed them back, maintaining her hold on their blindfolds.

"Tell them to loose their weapons," Medusa barked authoritatively.

"You must be joking," Goggles scoffed.

"Drop your weapons or all you're getting is a couple of statues," Medusa threatened, tugging lightly at the blindfolds. Mavis braced herself.

She heard a chorus of clicks and shifts as the armored men lowered their guns. There were several soft crunches of a body moving closer.

"What is that blue kid?" Goggles asked.

"You're telling me you've never seen a golem before," Medusa asked, belittling him as if he were three years old.

"A golem?"

"Flesh golem. Y'know, made from dead body parts…" she gingerly took Johnny's wrist and shook it so they could see the stitches. "He goes where the girl goes."

"And the other is a genuine vampire?"

"Unless you can think of another species that can shapeshift into a bat…" Mavis didn't need to see to be able to tell Medusa had rolled her eyes. "For a hunter you're pretty clueless aren't you?"

"Collector," Goggles shot back automatically. Mavis could feel him get closer. His voice was louder and the heat his breath gave off was starting to reach her.

"Not so fast," Medusa pulled the blindfolds taut and grabbed Mavis roughly by the arm, holding her close. "Before anyone does anything I'm going to need some assurance that you won't shoot me in the back the second I hand the kid over."

"I am a man of my word, gorgon," Goggles replied in a voice smooth as silk.

"Sure ya are." Medusa laughed.

Goggles sighed. "What is it that you want?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vampires and gunshots- whether a vampire can survive being shot or not varies from story to story, but usually in mythology they can't be killed by any conventional means, including firearms. The usually do bleed when injured, however, which becomes important when we get to the subject of creating vampires. Rapid healing is also a common trait, most vampires can survive anything apart from severed limbs and heart damage. In the movie Dracula's skin seems to visibly heal just after being out in the sun and I decided to extend those healing abilities to gunshots.


	11. A Means of Escape

"So let me get this straight, gorgon," Goggles tapped his cane against his shoe, relieving it of a layer of dirt. Medusa had led the unfriendly company in a curious path around half the island before finally arriving at a sloping area of the cliffs with a cave covered in moss and vegetation. A great stone hovered over the entrance held up by a complex web of rope like the world's most ancient and ubiquitous door. "You want to lock us inside your little cave with the vampire girl while you gallivant off into the distance with no assurance that we'll be able to get out again," he said with a sarcastic lilt.

"Not at all," Medusa replied smoothly, "I'm going to lock you inside my cave with absolutely no vampire and the assurance that the door will open when I'm ready for it to open." She rested one hand against the rock. "There's a counterweight inside controlling the door. I'll set it up with a candle that should burn through the rope in a couple minutes, then the stone will roll out and you'll be good to go."

"And I'm supposed to just trust that the mechanism will work and I won't be trapped in here forever?" Goggles muttered snidely, clearly not on board with the idea.

"I think we both know who the trustworthy one is between the two of us, sir" Medusa rolled her eyes. "Check it if you don't believe me."

Goggles made no move toward the door, choosing instead to stare apprehensively at Medusa through his tinted glasses.

"Look, I know perfectly well that business between us will not be finished tonight, all I'm asking for is a bit of a head start. You're clearly getting the better end of the deal here," she tugged at the belt holding Mavis and Jonathan, still blindfolded and growing more than a little nervous over what they'd been hearing.

Goggles tapped his chin, "You'd really hand over two of your own kind for a simple head start?"

"They really aren't my kind," Medusa shot back, "If you want to get picky about it they're actually trespassers. If it means my head, I'll be happy to be rid of them."

Johnny squirmed and for a second Mavis thought he'd try to run off. She touched his arm, hoping that would hold him back. The conversation certainly sounded bad but it had to be just a bluff on Medusa's part so Goggles would do what she wanted. Once she had him and the humans locked inside the cave they all would escape together, she was sure.

"Alright, gorgon," Goggles replied confidently. He straightened his shirt, "I'll comply on one condition."

"What's that?"

"The vampire and the golem boy will be locked in the cave with us."

"What? NO!" Mavis blurted out uncontrollably. Medusa tugged sharply and the belt dug into her wrist.

"That way I know you won't escape with my prize in tow," Goggles smiled, politeness bathed in slime. "It's only fair."

"Fine," Medusa sighed noncommittally. "Let's just get this over with." She pulled the two forward into the cave.

Mavis felt her heart begin to panic. She couldn't risk being trapped with these humans. She pulled violently at the belt, hoping to break free of the monster who was obviously betraying them. She wished she could fly away, but she wasn't strong enough to carry Johnny with her and she wasn't even going to consider abandoning him. Johnny himself was pulling against the belt as hard as he could, but Medusa was apparently strong enough to handle both of them, albeit barely, and before they could manage to break loose two great, hulking masses appeared next to them and ushered them effortlessly into the cave.

"Make sure you keep them all the way back so they don't get out," Goggles ordered.

Mavis and Jonathan were dropped unceremoniously against a thick piece of canvas that swung a little at the added weight. Mavis ripped her blindfold off with her free hand, prepared to claw her way out of this mess with one arm if she had to. She charged forward, instantly stopped by a huge figure of a man covered from head to foot in metal armor like a black, immovable wall. The humans were all clad in the same, featureless armor. The shields over their faces didn't even have holes for the eyes or mouth. One cold hand pushed her shoulder roughly and she fell back against Johnny. The canvas they were sitting on turned out to be a hammock that had been bolted to the cave walls at both ends. The material groaned against the added weight.

"What's going on? I can't see anything," Johnny complained. Mavis pulled at his blindfold till it slipped off his face. "I still can't see anything!" Johnny panicked.

"Were in a cave," Mavis replied, trying to sound strong for Johnny. They'd never get out of this alive if they both started panicking. "It's just too dark for humans."

"Well what's going on?" Johnny asked.

"There are a lot of humans here, I can't really see around them," Mavis glared at the faceless armor. The whole place smelled smoky and unpleasant, coupled with the lingering smell of her own blood it was difficult to focus. She twisted to peek around someone's shoulder. An ancient looking stove was pressed into the wall just to her left and the pipe that served as a smokestack drew her eye up to the ceiling. There were dozens of things, pots and bottles and thin cloth bags hanging from the ceiling on strings. The group of humans barely fit in the space and it was soon impossible to see what was going on at the entrance. She heard a lot of rustling and some muffled arguing and then a match was struck. Then there was the creaking of something heavy being shifted and pulled, the scrape of rock against rock, and then the cave was too dark for even her to see. They were completely trapped. The only light was a little flickering of a candle that danced across the ceiling, getting trapped amongst all the odds and ends stored there.

"Mavis, what do we do?" Johnny asked, holding her arm.

She held her breath for a moment, trying to come up with an answer. And then several things happened at once.

Something tugged at the leg of Johnny's swim trunks and he yelped. No one heard it because up by the entrance something sparked and hissed, the humans were scrambling in the tight space madly and Goggles was shouting angry curses. Mavis looked down and noticed a sliver of light near the floor under the hammock.

A hand shot out from the floor and grabbed Johnny by the ankle.

Mavis ducked down under the hammock and realized the light was coming from an opening near the floor and the hand motioning them forward was green and faintly scaled. It was Medusa. Mavis tugged Johnny down by his arm and showed him the hole. He made a sweeping gesture that indicated she should go first and they both crawled into the light while everyone in the cave was too distracted to notice.

The tunnel they crawled through was just barely wide enough for the two of them to shuffle through single file on hands and knees. It was mercifully short, however. And before either of them quite knew what was happening they had emerged out of the cave and into the open air. Medusa was there in her sunglasses and holding a flashlight. As soon as Mavis poked her head out of the tunnel the gorgon pulled her up and reached for Johnny.

"Time to run, kids!" she shouted.

"What? Run where?" Mavis replied.

"Anywhere but here, just go!" Medusa gave her a sharp push and they took off. Mavis looked back just long enough to see her light a long cord that sparked and sizzled into the little exit they'd just crawled out of. Medusa dropped the flashlight and turned to run in their direction. "Don't look back, keep going," she ordered Mavis.

Mavis had no inclination of where she was going. All she knew was there were nothing but trees surrounding her on all sides, and she had never ran this hard in her entire life. Johnny was panting beside her, keeping up by sheer adrenaline and panic. A branch hit him square in the face and he managed to keep moving undeterred.

And then all at once the trees cleared. The path ended and the ground dropped off into a steep cliff over the sea. Mavis tried to skid to a stop.

"Keep going!" Medusa shouted behind them. The gorgon ran up and with a forceful push all three leapt off the cliff and sailed into the ocean below.

At that exact moment, something erupted behind them. The whole island shook and the cave that once held them trapped exploded into a pile of flying rock and burning wood. Mavis hit the water hard, almost mistaking the boom of the explosion for the water rushing against her ears. She pushed her head out of the water to see a long trail of smoke rising from the island like that one spot had just been thrown on a grill and smoked.

She immediately took flight and began scanning the water for Johnny. He emerged, his red hair plastered to his startled face, but otherwise alright.

"Mavis! You okay!" he shouted up at her.

"I'm fine!"

"Where's Medusa?"

The gorgon appeared, her snake hair wet and writhing angrily and one hand clasped tightly over her face. "Lost my glasses," she sputtered, the waves lapped against her face and she bobbed unsteadily, trying to tread water with one hand.

Mavis took a deep breath and dove. The water was murky and everything looked dark and fuzzy and green, but she was able to make out the shape of Medusa's dress kicking through the water and something small thin sinking slowly near her. She swam deeper and caught up to it in a few strokes. She grabbed the cord attached to the frames of the sunglasses and reemerged.

"I've got them," Mavis told her.

"Where are you?" Medusa paddled through the water with her eyes glued shut.

"Hold out your hand," Mavis instructed. The gorgon obeyed and Mavis placed the sunglasses into her palm. The cord that had meant to wrap around her neck had apparently snapped at one point leaving the sunglasses to fly away loose. Medusa closed her fist desperately around the offered glasses and Mavis diverted her eyes while she put them on.

"Thank you," she breathed.

It was quite a swim back the shore where they had left the boat, but somehow the three managed. The sun was rising by the time they started back to the Underworld and Mavis spent the trip tucked under Johnny's arm with Medusa's still damp jacket held over them for shade.

Echidna grew immediately pale and angry when she saw them limping back, bruised and exhausted. She didn't yell at them like Mavis imagined her father would. It was a quiet, seething sort of anger that smarted of disappointment and worry more than anything else. It was much more effective than any kind of lecture would've been and both Johnny and Mavis accepted her clean towels and food with a certain degree of embarrassment.

Typhon had rushed the curious children to bed and the three were left alone at the kitchen table with large bowls of sheep's eyeball soup to recuperate. Medusa had taped a bandage over her shoulder and was holding an icepack to her forehead. Mavis and Johnny had both changed and she had examined and re-examined her midsection for traces of a bullet wound and found nothing. Johnny had gotten his fair share of scrapes, including one long, faint cut across his temple that made him smell sweet and strange, but he put a bandage over it and Mavis did her best to ignore it.

"Who was that guy?" Johnny finally asked after several long, tedious minutes of silence. "Y'know with the…" he circled his hands around his eyes in mimicry of a pair of goggles.

"What did you call him? Goggles?" Mavis asked.

"I don't really know his name, I just call him that to get under his skin," Medusa shrugged.

"So who is he?" Johnny asked.

"A human," Medusa replied. "A hunter. Every couple of decades I somehow manage to run into a new one. Just some overzealous human trying his hand at immortal glory by slaying the hideous gorgon. I assume you've heard the stories," she gestured to Johnny.

"Stories?"

"Sure. Cut off a gorgon's head. Use the eyes to turn your enemies to stone. That sort of thing." she said as casually as if she was talking about the soup they were eating. "Most people give up after a while but this guy's been after me since they started using those things with the propeller on top that fly around…"

"Helicopters?" Johnny suggested.

"Yeah, those things. He showed up with one of those on my island a while back. I scared off most of his people and we had a run in with a rattler that didn't end well for him," she said meaningfully. "Anyway, it obviously didn't kill him. He's been following me around off and on ever since. I don't know where he got those goggles but they block my powers just as well as these do," she tapped her glasses.

"What about all those other people? Are they hunters too?" Mavis hugged her knees to her chest. Her bowl sat forgotten and cold on the table. All this talk of monster hunters pretty much had killed her appetite.

"I have no idea," Medusa confessed, shaking her head. "He usually operates alone, or sometimes with one or two locals he can talk into helping him. I don't think many humans like him all that much. I don't know how he got so many people this time. Or how they got that much firepower."

"Speaking of which, that was a wicked explosion," Johnny slurped up the last of his soup. Mavis passed him her bowl.

"That was the cave that blew up, wasn't it?" Mavis asked.

Medusa removed her icepack and shrugged evasively. "Well, it wasn't the Taj Mahal."

"So, all those human's are… dead?" Mavis asked slowly.

"Most likely. The guy's pretty tenacious but I don't think even he could survive that," Medusa said lowly. Both Johnny and Mavis were staring at her with wide, uncertain eyes. "I know it sounds awful," she said quietly, her gravelly voice loosing much of it's usual bite. "But this is the kinda world we live in. Sometimes you have kill to keep from being killed."

"You killed someone!?" Echidna exclaimed in frightful shriek. She'd entered the room to only hear the tail end of the conversation.

"He was gonna kill us, Ma. Or worse." Medusa dryly reapplied the icepack.

"You shouldn't have been out there in the first place! This is why I keep telling you to stay here…"

"Ma, I can't stay here. I'm too much of a liability, and it's not safe," Medusa groaned as if the very words exhausted her.

"Not safe? Out there isn't safe! You almost died and got these children killed as well!" Echidna motioned to Mavis and Johnny.

Mavis felt strange listening to Echidna and her daughter argue. Almost like she'd slipped into a parallel dimension and was watching a slightly altered version of the argument she and her father had many times concerning the outside world.

"It was actually my idea to go…" Johnny pointed out. "Medusa actually protected us…"

"That's not my point," the lamia rose until she towered over the table. "She shouldn't have had to protect you at all because you should've been here!" The house vibrated at the sound of Echidna's booming yell like an echo.

Medusa set her jaw, her mouth pulled into a tight line. Then she pushed out her chair with a noisy scrape and marched out of the room, leaving the icepack on the table.

"Where are you going?" Echidna called after her.

"Out," Medusa replied tersely.

"Medusa…" Echidna started to overtake the gorgon but Mavis leapt to stop her.

"Can I try and talk to her?" she asked.

The lamia stared down at the vampire girl for a long time before sliding back to her normal height with a relenting sigh. "If you'd like," she said sadly.

Mavis thought she'd lost the gorgon at first, but when she took to the air to try looking for her through the city she noticed someone sitting on the roof of Echidna's house. The vampire flew up and materialized into her human form, sitting next to the gorgon with her knees curled up under her chin.

"What are you doing on the roof?" she asked Medusa softly.

"I used to come here to be alone to think," she replied. "It's the only place in this house that isn't swarming with people at all times."

Mavis understood that all too well. She had gotten through many lonely and depressing nights sitting alone on the roof of the hotel before Johnny came into her life. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked.

Medusa gave a noncommittal shrug and Mavis took that as permission to stay.

"For what it's worth," she said after a long pause, "I didn't want to trust you at first, but you really came through for me and Johnny back there. We wouldn't have made it without you protecting us. So thank you."

The gorgon broke into a little, crooked smile. "Does this mean you'll listen to me next time I tell you something? Like row away from the people trying to kill us?"

"Yeah, that was a pretty dumb idea," Mavis admitted, her head low. "I've heard all my life about how humans want to hurt us, but I never wanted to believe it was really true. And then I met and Johnny and… well, I guess I thought that all humans would turn out to be like him. I guess I was wrong."

"You're just young," Medusa said, her voice surprisingly warm and free of irony. "You haven't had to deal with many humans yet. They come in all types, just like monsters do. You'll learn."

The pair lapsed into another bout of silence.

"For what it's worth," Medusa added. "I wouldn't have gotten out of there without you and Johnny either. And certainly wouldn't have recovered these without you," she pinched her glasses. "So thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Mavis smiled. She was starting to understand how valuable that pair of dark lenses were to Medusa. What had her life been like before she'd had them. It was hard imagining her as a young monster, but she had to have been once. At one point she had been a hundred and eighteen, fighting with her parents, possibly sitting on this same rooftop, and wondering how different her life would be if she'd simply been born as something else.

And then something occurred to Mavis.

"That cave that you trapped the humans in. The one you blew up. That was your home, wasn't it?"

"I've had many homes, kid."

"But you don't anymore," Mavis pointed out.

"I'll be alright. I always am."

Mavis took a deep breath. "Medusa, I've been thinking about what you came here to ask me. And I'm sorry I didn't really have a good answer. I don't know a lot about turning people, but I do want to help you and I think I know a way." Medusa turned her head slowly, giving Mavis her full attention. "My dad is Count Dracula, he's like, the king of vampires. At least that's what some people call him. And he'd probably know how to turn you if it's even possible. So, if you want to, you could come with me and Johnny when we head home to Transylvania and we could ask him."

"You think he could do it?" she asked hesitantly.

"If anybody can," Mavis replied. "Anyway, it would give you a place to stay if you didn't want to live here."

"A crowded hotel doesn't sound much better than here. No offense, kid."

"Well, it's December right now. It's actually our slowest season. There'll only be a few monsters staying and the staff will leave you alone if you ask them to. It won't busy till spring when people need a better place to hide. Now is the perfect time for you to come."

Medusa cocked her head skeptically. "And your dad will be okay with a gorgon staying in his hotel?"

"Pfffttt," Mavis waved the question off like it was nothing. "Please, you're looking at his baby girl. I can talk him in to anything… mostly anything," she amended.

"Uh huh…Well, I guess it's worth a shot," Medusa said half-heartedly. Then she started to smile. "Thanks… Mavis."

"Don't mention it," Mavis smiled back. She hadn't realized it before, but that was the first time Medusa had used her actual name. Hearing it felt strangely gratifying, like she'd somehow earned a piece of the older woman's respect.

Her name was called once more, this time by Johnny, who stood looking up at the pair of monsters on the roof waving his cellphone madly. "Mavis! You'd better come down here. Your dad called while we were gone. Four hundred and seventy two times!"


	12. Mavis Lies

"Dad… Dad, it's okay," Mavis said into the phone pressed against her ear. She was pacing across the floor, her eyebrows furrowed a little in worry. Johnny sat on his bed, fiddling with his thumbs while watching his girlfriend try to calm Dracula down.

The door knocked softly and Johnny got up to answer it. Typhon poked his large head just far enough into the room to notice Mavis's pacing. He locked eyes with Johnny.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Hecate is here. She asked to see you both," he said in a dense, gravelly voice.

"Dad, I'm sorry, we just forgot to bring the phone," Mavis said anxiously in the background. She stopped to glance over at Johnny.

"Tell her to give us a few minutes to wrap up this call and we'll see her," Johnny told Typhon. The lamia dipped his head in a slow, epic nod and left.

Mavis covered the phone with one hand. "What was that?"

"Hecate. She's here to see us," Johnny explained.

"What? Hecate?" Mavis squinted and then suddenly remembered her phone conversation. "Yeah, Dad, I'm here. Where did we go? …Uh," she glanced apprehensively at Johnny. He stared back at her blankly. There was no telling how Dracula would react when he learned what happened, but it'd probably be somewhere between pathological worry and violent rage.

Mavis's eyes widened. "Oh right, Hecate! That's where we were!" she blurted into the phone as quickly as possible. Johnny's head cocked in confusion.

"We were visiting Hecate all night. Yes, the sorceress," she dragged a hand through her dark hair like she was scratching at a tic. "I don't know, Dad, the one with moon powers or something. Long white hair? Have you met her?" Johnny must've been staring at her strangely because when she met his eyes she practically blushed. "Well, I-uh, I gotta go, Dad. We need to… say goodbye. To Hecate. Who is going home. Which is where we were. All night… Okay, I'll call you tomorrow. I love you, too. Bye, Dad." She tore the phone away from her ear and pressed the button to shut it off.

"What was that all about?" Johnny asked. "Did you just lie...?"

"If I told him where we really went he'd want to know what happened, and if I told him what happened he'd lock me in the black hole of Calcutta for the rest of eternity." Mavis tossed the phone carelessly onto her bed. She marched out of the room with her head high and her back straight but Johnny still noticed the twinge of guilt that crept into her eyes. She'd probably never lied directly to her father before.

"How're we gonna explain Medusa?" Johnny asked, following her down the hall. Mavis hadn't told him much of her plans other than she wanted to take the gorgon back to the hotel with them when they returned home the next week. Johnny didn't mind himself; he liked Medusa just fine and the more monsters at the hotel the better the parties would be. But he imagined the Count wouldn't just let the gorgon's presence slide, especially after he'd told Mavis not to leave the city specifically because of Medusa.

"We'll think of something," Mavis said simply.

Typhon blocked most of the front door by his sheer size, but Hecate somehow noticed Mavis and Jonathan right as they approached and squeezed lithely past him.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed, touching a hand to her breast in relief. "I was so worried when I heard where you'd gone." She hugged them both tightly, first Mavis then Johnny. Her shoulder dug sharply into their collarbones and her hands were smooth and cold. It was like being hugged by an ice sculpture.

"How'd you know where we were?" Johnny cocked his head in confusion. "Do you have crystal ball type thing? Are you tracking us?"

"What? No, of course not," Hecate chuckled lightly.

"It was the wolf," Mavis realized aloud. Hecate stared fixed at Mavis, her normally narrow eyes widened and round in astonishment. "I saw him in the crowd as we were leaving," Mavis explained. "He must've figured out where we were going and told you."

"You are a clever one, aren't you?" Hecate smiled, slipping back into her natural cool amiability. "Yes, he did see you leaving," she motioned elegantly with one hand and the grey wolf padded into the room. He held a thin, leather folder in his mouth, which he passed to Hecate without ever making eye contact.

"I thought he did… I'm sorry, I don't know his name." Mavis said.

"He has no name," Hecate said plainly. She dusted off the folder and then leaned in towards Mavis. "I have one more tiny favor to ask of you, Mavis," she said.

"Oh?" Mavis winced ever so slightly.

"I need you to give this to your father when you get home." She held out the folder, expectantly. A lock of white hair slipped over her shoulder and dipped towards the floor.

"What is it?"

"Just something he needs to look at. You'll make sure he gets it?"

Mavis closed her hands over the folder slowly. "Sure." She tucked it under her arm.

"I'm so relieved nothing happened to either of you while you were gone," Hecate added.

"Haha, yeah," Mavis laughed awkwardly. "Nothing happened. Why would anything happen?"

"Well, the outside world is crawling with humans. There's no telling what would happen if one saw you. And to be anywhere alone with a gorgon…"

"Horrible mistake, I agree." Everyone turned to realize Medusa had appeared at the door. She bit harshly into some fist-sized fruit and chewed much louder than she had to.

"I didn't mean to imply…" Hecate started, eyeing Medusa's snake hair warily.

"No, of course not. And at any rate I was agreeing with you," Medusa took another bite, smiling smugly behind the fruit. In the background Typhon rolled his eyes.

"Well," Hecate steepled her fingertips together, "It is getting rather late. I'd best be on my way."

"Thanks for stopping by," Mavis said politely.

"Thank you for delivering that for me," Hecate nodded at the folder in her arms.

She moved to the door, Medusa continued to lean against the frame. Just as the sorceress moved to step out around her the gorgon stood up into the same space. Hecate stepped to the left, quickly followed by Medusa and the two continued to step in front of each other in a kind of awkward dance. Medusa finally sashayed broadly away from the door, holding out her half-eaten fruit in a kind of mocking curtsey. Hecate left stiffly with the wolf trailing behind her.

"We could tell him Medusa just snuck on the plane?" Mavis wondered aloud. She was laying stomach down on her bed, her head in her hands and her stocking-ed feet kicking in the air. Johnny sat solemnly on the bed next to her in the same hunched position he'd been listening to the earlier phone conversation. "What do you think, Johnny?... Johnny?" she repeated when he didn't answer.

"Hmmm…?"

"Are you okay? You've been kinda quiet," she asked, looking her boyfriend over in concern.

"So, I'm not allowed to be quiet?" he asked.

"It's just not like you."

"Well, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe I shouldn't talk so much," he muttered morosely.

"Johnny, what on earth is wrong with you." Mavis hovered over him, hands fixed aggressively on her hips.

"I'm no good for you Mavis!" he blurted dramatically.

Mavis jumped back, startled. Her heart did a worried little flip inside her chest. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I'm no good for you. I'm completely useless! I'm like the crumbled chip dust that ends up at the bottom of the bag. Or pennies. You can't buy anything with pennies. I'm as useless as pennies!" he grabbed Mavis by the shoulders, shaking her in frustration.

"Pennies?" Mavis asked, baffled.

Johnny deflated, his head hanging loosely. "I can't even make a metaphor that make sense," he grumbled.

"Johnny," Mavis knelt on the floor in front of him, trying to look him in the eye with his head bent. She reached up with one hand and lifted his chin. "What brought this on? Why would you even think that you're useless?"

He met her eyes. His hazel ones were round and faintly swollen looking. He swallowed. "Because I am," he said. "We were in real danger and I couldn't do anything. All I could do was go along and hope that those guys wouldn't kill us…"

"Oh, Johnny," Mavis took his hands, squeezing them lightly. "Don't do that, don't beat yourself up like that. It was my fault we got into that mess in the first place."

"But I was the one who wanted to go out. I was the one who wanted to see the beach."

"And we did, and the beach was amazing!" she said emphatically, "It was my awful idea to run at the humans, if we had stayed in the boat like you wanted we wouldn't have been in danger…"

"You were shot, Mavis," Johnny said darkly.

"I'm fine…"

"What if they had hit me?" Johnny asked, his voice oddly low and serious. "I'm not a vampire. I'm not immortal. If I had been shot like that I wouldn't be here right now."

Mavis bit down lightly on her lower lip. The thought alone was hard for her to process. Now that she actually had experienced some of the real, dangerous aspects of the human and monster conflict she felt even worse about dragging Johnny into it. He had shown her so much of the world that was new and exciting and beautiful and she had inadvertently exposed him to the parts that were violent and distressing. "They didn't shoot you though," she said finally. "They weren't after you really, they were after me."

"That just makes it worse! If I wasn't there you could've flown away and escaped! I was just a liability. I couldn't fight. I couldn't help us escape. I couldn't do anything," Johnny looked down again. "I couldn't protect you."

"Listen to me," Mavis said softly. "It's not your job to protect me. And you're not a liability. You've given me hope that the world wasn't as cruel and awful as I'd been led to believe, even if there are still parts of it that aren't as good as I'd like. And you do that every day, every time I see you smile, I think that there is a place for me in this world outside of my little room. You have no idea what that means to me."

Johnny looked up at her, his eyes wide and shining. His mouth quirked up into a little smile. "I do all that?"

"Of course," she smiled back. "You're my zing. I'd rather be in mortal peril with you than safe and alone, any day."

He closed the distance between them, pushing his lips against hers in a fervent kiss. Her eyes shot open in surprise for a moment and then she let them flutter closed, leaning in to kiss him with equal enthusiasm. They were no strangers to kisses, but this particular one felt different. It wasn't something light and sweet born of playfullness or joy or even mild teasing. This felt a little more desperate. A little more serious. Instead of warm butterflies it left her stomach churning in an excited twist. She didn't want it to end.


	13. Here We Are

One Week Later

* * *

 

"Make sure you call us the second you get home, sweetie," Echidna said, pulling Mavis into a large, bear hug.

"Say hello to your dad for us," Typhon added.

Johnny was tackled by a flock of little monsters shouting variations of "Don't leave!" and "Take me with you!" Mavis smiled fondly at the display. If there was one thing this trip had taught her it was that Johnny was surprisingly popular with children. Probably because in a lot of ways he still was one.

One of the little harpies attached herself to Mavis's backpack. "D'you really have to go, Mavis," she said in a small voice.

Mavis reached behind her head and pulled the girl off, holding her under her wings. "Yeah, I'm afraid I do. But I'll come back," she reassured her. "This is just the first of many, many trips for me and Johnny. Right, Johnny?" she shouted at the dog pile of monsters that covered her boyfriend.

"Absolutely," his muffled voice called back.

Echidna clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention. "All right, little monsters, you've said your goodbyes. Mavis and Johnny need to get going or they'll miss their plane. Everyone in the house."

"Awwww," the children all whined in unison. Echinda ushered them inside with a sweep of her arms, funneling in a few of stray monsters that ran in the opposite direction with her large tail.

Typhon laughed in a deep, rolling chuckle. "It's been so great having you kids around." He clapped Johnny on the back affectionately. Johnny winced in pain.

"We'll have to come back sometime soon," Mavis said.

"I'll hold you to that, Miss Dracula," Typhon winked. "Well, I should probably show you to the air strip, it's a bit hard to get to if you don't know the maze."

A loud, scraping noise interrupted his thoughts as Medusa slid down from their roof and jumped to the ground. She must've spent most of the week on that roof, Mavis and Johnny had seen very little of her. She'd exchanged the long, purple dress ripped for the sake of their escape for a pair of khaki pants that matched her beat up jacket much better but somehow made her skin look earthier and greener. It also didn't hide the fact that her feet were bare.

"It's okay, I can take them," Medusa said to Typhon. She shouldered a little cloth bag that held the rough beginnings of an un-strung bow, one end poked out of the bag and curved behind her.

"You sure you remember the way?" Typhon asked, his voice had taken on an entirely new tone, instead of deep and friendly it was soft and sounded very far away.

"I do," Medusa responded simply. Father and daughter stood a good distance opposite the other, awkwardly saying as little as possible.

"Well," Typhon finally spoke, "Good luck." Mavis wondered how much the man knew, if Medusa had told him anything about what she was going to the hotel for. The gruff, frustrated vibe she had gotten from him in the few previous encounters they'd had between he and Medusa was replaced by something quiet and resigned. He almost seemed sad.

Medusa nodded curtly, a dozed snakes waved with her. "C'mon," she said to Mavis and Johnny. And with that they left.

* * *

They took a different path through the labyrinth until they finally arrived at a giant staircase carved into the rock. It took nearly half an hour to climb the whole thing and by the time they reached the top Johnny dropped his backpack and fell onto his knees.

"Dude, that was long," he panted. He rolled onto his back, exhausted and sweating. "I think I'm getting outta shape," he poked at his stomach. "You stop climbing mountains and start eating monster mash meatloaf and all of a sudden you're nothing but flab."

Mavis giggled. "I think you did just fine," she stretched out a hand to help him up.

They had arrived atop one of the cliffs that housed the Underworld. There was nothing for miles but flat rock that ended all at once in a steep drop to the dark, rippling waves below. Faint, white lines were painted to mark a lane, and at the end of it was a familiar yellow plane.

"Hey, Gus!" Mavis called, looking for signs of the gremlin pilot. "Gus!"

The three moved down the land towards the plane. It was in much better shape than what they'd last seen of it two weeks earlier. The paint was a bit scraped and the _Janice_ printed on the side was a bit hard to read, but all in all it was good shape.

The gremlin jumped out of the plane at the arrival of the three and his expression changed on a dime from elation to petrified fear.

"Oh no! No!" the gremlin shouted in protest. "No gorgons near this plane. Not gonna happen. No."

"Cool it, Shorty, you won't even know I'm here," Medusa sighed.

"Medusa needs to come back with us…" Mavis said, standing as tall as she could and trying to muster an air of authority. "She's… uh… she's vital to… our… security."

"Security?" Both Gus and Medusa said in unison.

"Yeah," Mavis stood between the gorgon and the gremlin. "She's here to protect us in case we have to make another emergency landing. She gestured to Medusa's bag just long enough for Gus to make out the bow and then stood in front of her again.

The gremlin stared doubtfully at Mavis. His heavy mustache twitched a little, and then finally he pulled his pilot's goggles from his forehead and snapped them over his eyes. He turned and marched into his plane, grumbling unintelligibly.

"Well, that was easy," Medusa remarked.

They settled into their seats, Johnny and Mavis taking the first two and Medusa sitting behind them. With a loud rattle the propeller started up and the plane was on the move once more.

"Kinda loud isn't it?" Medusa shouted.

"It's supposed to do that," Mavis replied.

* * *

Dracula rose from his coffin, stiff and achy. The candles scattered about his room were burned low and dim. He raised the flame telepathically, paying special attention to the area around the massive painting hanging on the nearest wall. The light scattered over it, illuminating the brush strokes that made up Martha's pale, smiling face.

"Good evening, Love," Dracula said wistfully. He transformed into his trademark suit and cape, straightening the collar until it stood taught framing his face. "I miss you." He reached out with a steady hand and then suddenly pulled back. What was he doing? He was actually talking to a painting.

He turned away and glanced absently at his calendar, doing a wild double take when he suddenly noticed the giant, red circle surrounding the current evening.

Mavis was coming home.

* * *

It didn't take long for Medusa to realize that flying was not her thing. The second the plane dipped off the cliff and into the skies her stomach did a similar drop and she clasped her hand over her mouth trying to keep her breakfast in. Thirty minutes later and her head was between her knees, her snakes hanging limply from her head.

"You okay there, Medusa?" Johnny said, looking over the back of his seat. Mavis had dozed off, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I've changed my mind. I want to go back," she groaned to the floor.

"We're already like hundreds of miles in the air," he pointed out. "I think you're kinda stuck."

Medusa let out a horrible, sickly moan.

"I think I have some Dramamine," Johnny said, he carefully leaned Mavis off of him. She sighed a little and settled into her seat. He unzipped a section and handful of his old clothes spilled out. "Sorry about the smell, one second." He continued to rifle through, sticking his entire head in the backpack and coming out with a small plastic bottle.

He uncapped the bottle and dropped a pill in his hand. "Here Medusa," he turned around and tapped her on the shoulder. Several snakes snapped at him and he drew back.

Medusa raised her head laboriously. "What is that supposed to be?" she sighed in disdain.

"It's called Dramamine. It's for motion sickness," Johnny explained. Behind her glasses one of Medusa's eyebrows quirked up. "Just swallow it. It's medicine."

She held out her hand and Johnny dropped the little white pill into her palm. Her skin was greener than usual, but the underside of her hand was a bit lighter and creamy, like the underbelly of a reptile. He handed her a water bottle and she downed the pill in one swallow, making an ugly, smacking face afterwards. "Tastes nasty," she remarked.

"Yeah, but it will make you feel better," Johnny reasoned.

"Thanks, I guess." She said flatly and handed his water bottle back.

Johnny shrugged humbly. "You helped me nip a cold in the bud, I'm just glad I could return the favor."

Medusa chuckled. "We seem to be doing a lot of favor returning lately."

Johnny smiled, his arms hung over the back of his seat as he turned completely to face Medusa. "Well, monsters gotta stick together, right?"

The snakes crowning Medusa's head swayed back oddly, as if they were exchanging glances with one another. Her face remained neutral.

"So, you're really gonna become a vampire?" Johnny asked, leaning forward.

"If it's possible," she replied, hugging her jacket as close to her chest as possible. "How's the girlfriend?" she asked.

"She's asleep," he said, "she'll probably be awake by the time we get there."

"You really like her, don't you kid?"

A strange, warm feeling came over Johnny. He glanced down, a smile pulling all the way up to his eyes. "Yeah. A lot."

"Have you asked her?" she asked slowly, as if she was afraid of bringing up the topic.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"About turning," she added.

"Oh. Not yet," he said, deflating, "I don't know what she'll think," he admitted.

Medusa nodded in sympathy. "You want to turn, don't you?" she asked softly, not a hint of judgment in her voice.

"I do…" he said, deep in thought. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm fine with being human, but…" he glanced at Mavis, still asleep in her chair. "Look at her, she's gonna live forever. And I want to be there. That's not wrong, is it?"

"No," Medusa replied. "Don't take the decision lightly, though. Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Then the plane shook. Medusa groaned, her head hitting her knees. "Oh gods, how much longer is this flight?" Johnny opened his mouth and her hand shot up, "Don't answer that!" she groaned.

* * *

Dracula was buzzing around the hotel, alerting every member of the staff even though they all knew perfectly well enough what day this was. Mavis hadn't wanted a huge party when she returned so Dracula had kept it simple. The dining hall had a large spread of everything from Mavis's favorite scorpion sliders to spider goulash to roast mouse. The spiders had been up for hours working on a giant Welcome Home banner. Frank, Wayne, and Murray had arrived and were setting up their instruments in the ballroom for later that night. Nothing major.

He was out by the pool supervising it's cleaning, making sure none of the zombies lost a toe or and arm in the process, when one of the suits of armor informed him the hearse was approaching the front gate.

He sped out to the front door, watching the hearse drive over the bridge and pull up to the front of the hotel on bated breath. The headless cabbie moved to open the door, but the instant before he did the hearse door flew open and a familiar face appeared.

"Dad!" Mavis shot forward and latched her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him to the ground. "I missed you."

"Oh, my little mouse, I missed you so much." he held her tightly. The toll the past two weeks had taken on him almost seemed irrelevant now. Everything was back the way it should be. Better now. He let her go and she came back and everything was going to be all right.

Father and daughter broke their embrace ever so slightly and Mavis stretched out her arm to make room for Johnny. "Hey, Drac, you miss me?" he asked.

Dracula tousled the boy's hair. "The peace and quiet was intolerable," he said, half joking.

The three broke their hug and Dracula finally noticed something standing next to the hearse with her arms crossed and sporting a small smile.

Dracula stiffened, subtly moving to stand in front of Mavis and Johnny. "Who are you?" he asked icily.


	14. Bargaining

"Dad, if you'd just listen…" Mavis clambered down the hall after the tall silhouette of her father. She was the only one that had been able to keep up with the elder vampire in his march down to his office, though Johnny and Medusa were not far behind.

Dracula flagged down the nearest suit of armor. "Stuart! Front and center!" The armor snapped to attention. "I need a guarded escort for a dangerous monster off the premises…"

"Dad, would you stop for two seconds!" Mavis sped in front of him in a flash, cutting off his path.

"Not now, Mavis," Dracula said stiffly, staring at her down his sharp nose.

"Not until you listen to me!" she said, stamping her foot.

"I told you to be careful! I told you not to you…"

"Would you just listen!"

"You disobeyed me! You could've been killed."

"You said that you would _trust me!"_ Mavis shouted as loudly as she could. Her eyes flashed, her pupils slitting for an instant like a snake. Dracula shrunk back instinctively. "Just listen!" she continued. "Nobody did anything wrong. We brought Medusa here because she needs your help."

"What? Mavis, I am not going to have a gorgon…"

"She is not dangerous. We wouldn't have brought her if she were. Don't you think I'd know better than to bring something here that was dangerous?"

Dracula didn't have an answer to that. He wanted to tell her that yes, there was so much danger in the world that she didn't understand, but he couldn't. It would be like admitting he still didn't trust her to make responsible decisions, and the whole point of letting her leave was that he trusted her to take care of herself.

At this point, Johnny and Medusa had caught up to the vampires, stopping short at the sight of Mavis, staring her father down, and a suit of armor rubbing the back of his helmet at a loss of what to do.

"Dad, just talk to Medusa, please." Mavis said, softening. "She asked for my help and I promised I would let her talk to you. Dracula's word, remember?"

Dracula's shoulders sagged a little in defeat.

* * *

He ushered the gorgon into his office, leaving Jonathan and Mavis in the hall behind. Medusa gave him a wide berth, standing in the middle of the room and well away from his desk, her arms pulled tightly around her and the nest of snakes that made up her hair swaying back and forth in a light survey of the room. There were two other chairs in the room besides the one behind the desk but she didn't sit down or even acknowledge them. Dracula circled her, sticking to the edges of the room, keeping his eyes on the walls. He just needed to give her one audience and then have her leave. It would be over quickly. He just needed to look at it like an interview or a business transaction. Let her speak and then get rid of her.

"My daughter says that you need my help," he said, stiffly professional. He moved behind his desk with his back towards her.

"Yeah, that wall has some serious problems," Medusa said sarcastically.

Dracula glared over his shoulder. "I am trying to be hospitable."

"You avoid facing all of your guests directly? I'll try my best to not kill you." He didn't like the cavalier way she said that, almost like it was meant to be a sardonic quip only without a hint of amusement in her voice. He turned slowly.

"What is it that you want?"

"I want to be turned into a vampire." She said without pause.

Dracula was taken slightly aback. He wasn't exactly a stranger to the concept of people actually wanting or choosing to turn, but it happened very rarely and never, never for a good reason.

"You're immortal?" he asked.

"So far," she replied.

He let out a scoffing half-laugh, "Why would you bother becoming a vampire, then?"

"Vampires don't create garden accessories every time you look directly at someone," she said coldly.

Dracula finally took a daring glance at the darkened glasses that covered a good portion of the gorgon's face. The lenses were large and blank and her cheek-bones jutted out sharply under them making her look a bit like a death's head with giant eye sockets covered in green scales. The paltry, upturned bump that was the excuse for her nose made him wonder how those glasses managed to stay on her face.

"So… you think becoming a vampire will somehow nullify your powers?"

"You're the vampire, you tell me. Would it?"

He shook his head, "Vampire powers are tricky. Unpredictable. I've seen a lot of variation on what some of us can and can't do. Not all of us turn to bats, some transform into wolves and other elements like smoke. Not all of us have the same innate abilities. Some are telepathic, some can speak to the dead, some have little superhuman qualities at all. Assuming I even could manage to turn you, you may just end up a vampire with stoning powers."

"But it's possible…" Medusa said, her tone indicating she wasn't going to allow the conversation to end on a hypothetical.

"I'm not sure it would be possible to turn you at all."

"Why not?"

"You're immortal, as you've said. Turning to a vampire isn't a simple initiation ceremony. It actually requires you to die. In a very specific way. And it's not exactly reversible."

"I don't know that I _can't_ die," Medusa offered. "I've gotten hurt. I've bled. I've been hungry and thirsty and broken bones…"

"But you don't know definitively if you can be killed or not."

"Well there isn't exactly a gorgon support group I can go to and ask," she said, biting harshly into the phrase.

Dracula put up his hands. "I'm just trying to point out this isn't exactly a worthwhile endeavor. I know even less about gorgon immortality than you do. Even if I could turn you, which is probably unlikely, there are no guarantees it would affect your powers at all."

"I don't exactly have much to loose either way, do I?" she pointed out, dropping her arms with a sigh. "Look, I'm not asking you turn me this second. I'm not really asking you to turn me at all. I'm just asking if it's possible. If you can give me reasonable information, one way or the other, on what would happen I'll be perfectly happy to leave and find some other vampire to actually turn me if need be."

"Well, I don't exactly go around doing experimentation on this sort of thing," Dracula protested. "I run a hotel not a vampire research clinic."

"From what I've heard you're the best person to ask. I didn't come all the way up here on the plane ride of Hades just turn back with nothing."

"I've told you all I know…"

"All you've told me is that the possibilities are up in the air. There has to be something you can go to for information. Don't you vampires talk to each other and write stuff down…"

"I highly doubt anyone's tried to turn a gorgon before. Even the vampires who don't object to turning others usually haven't done so on other monsters."

"Well, in that case, I see no reason why I can't take a risk and turn right now," she peeled off her jacket, tossing it onto the back of a vacant chair with a loud slap. "How do we start?"

Dracula's eyes bulged. "Start? No. Noooooo, there will be no starting. None. Ever. Not in this hotel. Not anywhere. NO."

Medusa crossed her arms, her bare shoulders shrugging, "I told you I'm not leaving empty handed."

"Well, I'm not turning you. You might as well go before my patience runs out."

"There are two ways to get rid of me, here. Either you get me the plausible information I need or you turn me."

Dracula pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess… I could check our library for any documentation on gorgon immortality."

"Thank you," Medusa said less like an expression of gratitude and more a declaration of victory.

"But I have a few conditions. You will not harm any of the guests during your time at my hotel."

Medusa's eyebrows quirked up behind the glasses, "What exactly do you take me for? If that was my intention I wouldn't be having this conversation…"

"I know, just… just be cautious. Stay away from the other guests."

"Fine." Medusa hand waved in agreement. "I have no plans to stay long. I'll be out of here the instant you find anything. If we start now…"

"You haven't seen the library," Dracula interrupted. "It will take awhile to go through. And I'm not spending another minute of my daughter's return on this. I'll get you a room for the time being. We'll start on the library tomorrow."

Medusa paused for a short while, seeming to consider this before finally agreeing, "Alright. But first thing tomorrow."

* * *

Dracula had suspected Medusa would have no problem keeping her promise and steering clear of the guests. Everything about her from her attitude towards her own powers to the stand-off-ish way she talked with him seemed to indicate someone who steered clear of people as a general rule. What Dracula did not take into account was the growing familiarity between the gorgon and his daughter and her boyfriend. Johnny in particular made it his mission throughout the night to make sure Medusa was included in their company, whether she wanted that or not. For once Dracula was glad he'd kept the gathering to a small, intimate group instead of throwing another infamous blowout like Mavis's birthday had been.

There were still a good forty or so monsters there and Medusa was coerced into meeting more faces and shaking more hands in one night than she'd had in her entire life. The party that was meant to be a welcome home for Mavis and Johnny quickly turned into a gorgon meet-and greet with the three becoming nigh inseparable and Dracula observing their interactions from a safe corner of the room. No one seemed to notice his absence. Gorgons were rare in any part of the world but in Transylvania they were practically unheard of. She was met mostly with a quiet awe or exotic interest by the other monsters, but no one seemed to be particularly afraid, even before the situation with the glasses was explained. This was partly due to the crowd, all intimately acquainted with Mavis and Johnny to the point of absolute trust, and partly because Medusa said and did very little.

"I wonder who her hair dresser is?" Eunice whispered conspiratorially to Wanda. The werewolf turned from bottle-feeding one of her newest litter of puppies to the dance floor where Mavis and Johnny were attempting to show Medusa a box-step. The gorgon moved very stiffly and uncomfortably in contrast with the others, even the swaying nature of the snakes atop her head couldn't make her seem graceful.

"The poor dear doesn't look too fond of dancing," Wanda observed.

"Oh, that's just the style," Eunice explained. "I think it's called Zumba…"

Wanda gave a subtle headshake that Eunice wouldn't notice and passed her the puppy. "Hold Wallace for a moment would you? I'm going to say hello."

Eunice took the swaddled puppy and the bottle and started making loud, nasally cooing noises at the infant. Wanda gave a fond look to her son and the five-seat stroller that held the rest of the litter before heading to the dance floor.

"May I cut in?" she asked, tapping her honorary niece on the shoulder.

"Aunty Wanda!" Mavis broke into a beaming grin and gave the werewolf a familiar hug.

"You haven't met Medusa yet, have you?" Johnny paused his spastic, noodle-like dancing for a few moments in order to introduce the two.

"Pleasure to meet you, Medusa," Wanda said amiably.

"Charmed," Medusa said flatly, "I'll warn you in advance, I'm not good with names."

"That's quite alright, dear. I'm not much good with names either."  
"Wanda's got like, an army of werewolf kids and their names all start with W," Johnny explained.

"Kids? You have kids here?" Medusa asked, her voice spiking curiously.

"Well, I don't know about an army, I have just over a dozen. The newest litter is over there with Eunice," Wanda gestured to the flesh golem, who took the paw of the puppy she was holding and waved it in their direction. "The others are rough-housing around here somewhere, I'm sure. Oh, look, there's Winnie."

At that moment a little, pink clothed werewolf with a turkey leg in her mouth tore through the dance floor followed by several slightly larger pups, one wearing a dark hoodie with a skull on it stopped to scratch violently behind his ears before continuing the chase.

"Boys, leave your sister alone. There's plenty of food here," Wanda called after them. "Kids, honestly," Wanda turned to find she'd been talking to air. Medusa had left the dance floor, backing steadily towards the doors.

"Hey, where're you goin'?" Johnny called.

"Just, um, out… to get some air," Medusa backed straight into the handle. She stepped lithely to the side and pulled the door open with her back still turned to it. "I'll catch up with you later," she said hastily before disappearing through the opened door.

Johnny started forward, "You haven't meet the band yet!" Mavis put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Let her go. This is probably a little overwhelming."

Dracula left his post in a quiet corner of the room and slipped out after her unnoticed.

* * *

Medusa left the party in a clipped, hurried pace, shuffling straight down the center of the hall with her head high and snakes streaming behind her. Dracula kept to the shadows, slithering out from behind statues and pillars from hiding place to hiding place at a safe distance, curious as to what the gorgon would do now that she was free of the crowd. He still wasn't entirely convinced of her motives for coming here. No one showed up at his hotel with a request that ridiculous and there could be a number of things she was really after. Her vampire-turning scheme could be an unique excuse for getting to something else. The treasury, perhaps.

The gorgon made it to the end of the hall, which split off left and right into a row of guest rooms. She tried one handle before establishing it was, in fact, locked and took a quick look down the row of identical doors before doubling back down the hall she'd just come through. Dracula flattened himself behind an elaborate candelabrum as her change in direction had her suddenly moving toward him. One door had been left open a crack and she pushed into the room. It turned out to be a small rehearsal room built in the fashion of the music rooms of the late 1880s. A small, dusty harpsichord sat in a corner next to several small shelves of sheet music built into the wall and a plush velvet couch sat in the other. Medusa took two seconds to take the tiny room in before heading straight for the little, grated window against the opposite wall. She put one knee on the window-seat and fiddled with the clasp that held the widow closed.

Dracula snuck silently into the room, hiding in the shadow cast by the open door. Medusa remained entirely unaware of his presence, engrossed in rattling the widow. She took to fruitlessly tugging on the grate a few times before deciding it was either stuck or locked somehow and letting out a frustrated, unlady-like grunt, knocking her head against the glass. The snakes slid, one by one, helplessly over her shoulder, obstructing her face. He cocked his head unconsciously to get a better look.

All at once she shot up. Before Dracula collected his bearings enough to realize what had even happened the foot of a music stand was pointed in his face like a weapon. Medusa held it with her arm perfectly outstretched and one knee bent like she was prepared to either take off and run or launch the stand forward like a spear at a moment's notice. Dracula kept as still as he could. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling Medusa could kill a person with a music stand if she needed to.

"Okay, Chief," she said finally. "You got your conditions, I've got mine. Don't ever try to sneak up on me again. You will regret it."


	15. Of Mice and Monsters

Dracula had thought it best to show Medusa to her room before the night wore on any further. Johnny had other plans. The band had just wrapped up their last set in time for dinner and Johnny had pulled them aside for the expressed purpose of finally introducing them to his newest monster friend.

"Medusa, this is the band. Frank, as in _the_ Frankenstein…"

"Hi, How'ya doing," Frank waved.

"Wayne the werewolf..."

"Hey."

"And this is Murray the mummy… "

"Charmed,'' Murray stepped sidelong over to Medusa with a wide, come-hither sort of grin. "You've got some _fine_ cobras there, darlin'," he said in his best suave voice.

"They're asps," Medusa replied bluntly. One took a snap at Murray and the mummy jumped back. Frank and Wayne chuckled lightly at their friend's expense and Dracula rolled his eyes.

"We'd better go inside and get some grub before any of the gremlins show up," Johnny said, leading the group into the dining room. Mavis met them at the door.

"Dad, where've you been? I feel like I haven't seen you all night."

"It's nothing, blood orange," he said, taking her arm. "Daddy's just been making sure everything is in order for tonight."

"Dad, just relax, everything looks fine!" Mavis waved him off. They ended up trailing a little behind the others. Mavis lowered her voice. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, It's just… This thing with Medusa has become kinda important. Do you think you'll be able to help her?"

Dracula gave a labored sigh. "I don't know yet, honey." He pulled her to a stop and looked at her pointedly. "Why _is_ this so important?"

Mavis shrugged, "Cause she's our friend. Johnny's and mine. I know she seems a bit cold at first, but she isn't really. She does care about people. You just have to give her some time."

Dracula pondered this for a second. He wanted to say, 'this is a terrible idea and I think you're being incredibly naive," but instead he furrowed an eyebrow and asked "How exactly _did_ you come to this conclusion, Mavis?"

Mavis blanched for a second, suddenly glancing at the ceiling. "We just… hung out a lot. In the Underworld. Y'know Johnny can lighten anybody up if he has the right opportunity," she nudged Dracula meaningfully in the ribs.

"I see." He replied, still a bit uncertain.

* * *

Norbert wheeled out yet another table tray to complete the large spread that took up an entire wall in the dining room. Dinner was a less formal, buffet-style meal; guests stood in a line where they piled everything from ghoul goulash to spider bite tarts onto their plates and were free to come back and forth for seconds as needed. Cooking everything so it'd be hot and ready to serve at the appropriate time was the highest order the dragon had been given in his young life, and he was exhausted. After tonight he was due for a long, relaxing soak in the hotel Jacuzzi.

He lifted the lid on a platter of scrumptious smelling roast mouse he was especially proud of. He had never cooked mouse before but the Count had requested it specifically, apparently it was his daughter's favorite, and so Norbert put quite a bit of elbow grease into getting the meal perfect. The meat was nice and tender, the plum sauce ripe and flavorful. It was a masterpiece.

Out of the corner of his beady eyes, Norbert noticed Dracula himself entering the hall with a pretty young vampire girl at his side. Norbert decided it would be best to present his masterpiece himself.

"Count, sir. Ma'am," Norbert said, slithering over to the vampires. "I thought you'd like to be the first to sample the roast mouse," he lifted the tray.

Mavis's eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, this looks delicious!" She accepted the tray eagerly. Norbert glowed with pride, or at least as close to glowing as his scales would allow. "Dad, we should find a table. Where'd Johnny end up?"

Dracula spotted Johnny's unruly mass of red hair sitting next to Medusa's unruly mass of snake hair. They were both eating green lettuce out of identical red bowls while Johnny chatted animatedly to the other monsters about something. Murray had apparently gotten over his light ego bruising and was laughing wildly at something Johnny had said.

"Honeybat, why don't you get us some blood beaters and I'll meet you at the table," Dracula took the platter from Mavis.

"Sure, Dad. Don't you dare eat all the mice, though," Mavis pointed at him, her severe gaze alluding to the many horrors that would befall him if he ate all of her favorite meal.

"Of course not, darling," Dracula reassured her. Mavis turned to get the refreshments and Dracula turned to the cook. "Excellent work, Norbert."

The dragon beamed.

* * *

"I hope everyone is eating their fill," Dracula remarked to his friends as he approached the table. Frank, Eunice, Wayne, and Murray were sitting across from Medusa and Johnny, while Wanda and her giant stroller took one end of the table. Dracula placed himself at the head of the table, setting the platter of mice down at the exact center, directly in front of Medusa. "Anyone care for some roast mouse? Hmmm?" he tilted the plate a little.

"Oh, I'll have some…" Frank began but Dracula shut him up with a tense look before his fork could reach the platter. "At least I would have some if it wasn't for that Atkin's diet, I guess."

"Mouse is, after all, a vampire specialty," Dracula remarked, spearing one with a particularly forceful crunch and transferring it to his plate. "Of course good, fresh mouse can be hard to find in the wintertime, but the Hotel Transylvania spares no expense when it comes to food." He sawed through the mouse delicately with his dinner knife and stuck a small piece in his mouth with all the practiced grace expected of a nobleman. Then he began talking with the unchewed piece still in his mouth in a manner decidedly not expected of one. "Mmmm…This really is delicious, best mouse we've had all season," he swallowed. "Try some, Medusa?" he asked in syrupy disdain.

"I make it a point not to eat anything with eyeballs," she replied dryly.

"Ha, that's a good one," Dracula gave a barking, fake laugh. He stabbed at the mouse again, cutting himself another piece. "Can't eat anything that might become a rock. A shame, too. I thought snakes loved mice."

"I wouldn't know. I'm not a snake," she said with obvious venom.

"You do want to be a vampire, though," Dracula replied pointedly. Several confused glances were exchanged across the table. "Vampires eat mice."

"Dude, I think she's saying she's a vegetarian," Johnny said, gesturing to their little salads. "Be cool."

"I am cool. I am ice cool. I'm just merely pointing out the fact that a vampire cannot survive on green leaves and nuts like livestock. You'll have to start eating mice sometime… or spend your vampiric eternity as a starving, anemic half-corpse."

"Drac..." Frank winced.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do here, Your Countship, and it's not going to work so you might as well drop it," Medusa said, stabbing a trunk of lettuce and chewing it forcefully.

"I'm trying to do you a favor," Dracula began, pushing the platter towards her.

"You're trying to intimidate me," Medusa pushed it back.

"Don't dish out what you can't take," Dracula countered.

"Oh, I am perfectly capable of taking this," she replied. "In fact…" she stabbed one of the mice with her thus far unused knife and tore it open. She pulled a sizeable hunk of flesh off the mouse's tiny ribcage and dropped it into her mouth, chewing smugly. Dracula blanched at the display.

"You could probably work on your table manners, while you're at it," he muttered.

She pulled a whole thigh bone through her teeth, dropping the cleaned bone onto her plate with a triumphant clatter. "Wha's that?" she mumbled, her mouth full of mouse. She put her fingertips one by one in her mouth, cleaning them with ten, exponentially defiant smacks.

Dracula sawed through a second mouse, cutting through the meat piece by piece as fast as he was able while Medusa dispensed with silverware all together and pulled hers apart with her hands. The others didn't eat another bite and merely sat slack-jawed and grimacing at the disgusting display of the two monsters attempting to out-eat the other. The silver platter bounced haphazardly as mouse after mouse was snatched from it.

The last unfortunate mouse was skewered with Dracula's fork at the precise moment Medusa made a grab for it. He attempted to yank the mouse, platter and all, towards his plate only to have Medusa dig into its flesh with her fingernails and tug it back. The tug-of-war continued back and forth and back and forth, until the tension was too much for the poor little rodent and it slipped clear off the table, the platter following with a noisy crash.

The monsters stared in unabashed silence at the mutilated mouse for a few seconds, and then to the pair of red sneakers next to it. Mavis stood with two deep red glasses, her brows lowered in a straight, disappointed scowl.

Something rumbled deep in Medusa's middle and she mumbled a quick, "I have to go," before racing from the room for a second time that evening, her hand covering her mouth.

Mavis said nothing, leveling her piercing glare at her father a second longer before turning and following the gorgon out.

"Well, that was mature," Wayne commented sarcastically. One of the pups began to wail, causing the others to join in a chorus of barking sobs.

Dracula had the gnawing feeling that he'd once again done something that would be nigh impossible to justify, even to his friends.

* * *

"Sorry again about Dad," Mavis said, raising the candelabra higher in her hand to illuminate the large flight of stairs they were climbing.

"It wasn't entirely his fault," Medusa said sheepishly, she gave a sick groan and pulled her jacket tightly around her middle, "I am never eating meat again."

"I think you just had too much too quickly," Mavis reasoned. "You are gonna have to start eating meat and drinking blood if you turn, though," she said. "Dad wasn't kidding about that part."

"I think I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Medusa grimaced. The snakes all shuddered in unison.

"So the bow and arrow thing wasn't for hunting?"

"No. Just self-defense. "

"I guess Dad isn't the only one here who has to intimidate people from time to time. . ." she hinted.

"Mavis, if you're trying to guilt me into apologizing you can stop right now, thanks."

"You said yourself that it wasn't entirely his fault …."

"I'm not apologizing for something I didn't start, okay. He thinks he can get rid of me by these weak stunts, he is _sorely_ mistaken."

Mavis sighed. In truth, she wanted to grill Medusa just as badly as her father for participating in that… whatever that was. They were adults, for rabies's sake, shouldn't they know better? Couldn't they just pretend to get along for one night out of sheer necessity? She'd done it loads of times for the sake of entertaining hotel guests she didn't particularly like. But if her dad wasn't going to listen to her there was little chance Medusa would. And while she did consider the gorgon a friend they weren't really at the point where she felt comfortable lecturing the woman. Instead she drifted to a different topic.

"I don't know why they put you in the tower room," Mavis said, subtly pedantic. It wasn't hard to guess why Dracula had assigned her that room. It was the highest, smallest, and furthest removed from the entire hotel. It took no less than three flights of stairs in addition to the elevator ride to reach it, and was rarely used. Dracula obviously considered it the best option to keep Medusa out of the way. "I can get you another key from the front desk, it's not a problem."

"This is fine," Medusa said simply.

"You sure? These are a lot of stairs…"

"I'm alright, I can handle stairs. Besides, I like the privacy."

"Alright," Mavis sighed, finally reaching the door to the practically quarantined room. She showed Medusa the key and demonstrated how to unlock it. The door swung on squeaky hinges to reveal a dark, narrow, circular room with the shape of a bed barely visible in the shadows. "Just let me know if you need anything. I'll remind housekeeping to come by."

"Really, Mavis, it's alright. It's actually kind of perfect," Medusa smiled a little.

Mavis handed her the candles and backed away, leaving Medusa to settle in. She took two steps down before shaking her head, silently chastising herself for forgetting, and then jumped from the staircase. She transformed into a bat mid-air and then glided down, avoiding the spiraling stairs entirely.

Medusa set candelabrum down on the little vanity that made up the room's only furniture besides the bed. There was a thick curtain drawn tightly over a narrow window and she pulled it aside, opening the window to air out the space. It was still dark and bitingly cold, but the sun would be up in an hour and hopefully with it some heat. Medusa pushed one hand down against the mattress, marveling as it sunk in a little. She turned and let herself fall carelessly backwards, landing on the bed with a contended sigh.


	16. Moat-skating

Medusa wasn't particularly used to sleeping all day and waking at night. She'd been brought up that way, as most young monsters were, but living on her own she'd found it easier to sleep at night and work during the day when the sunglasses didn't impede her vision as much. Lately she'd been trying to adjust back to sleeping during the day, but she had yet to get completely comfortable with it, especially since her room was, daytime or no, stiflingly cold.

She spent most of the day on her bed, wrapped in two blankets, trying to force herself to nod off. She shut her curtains to block out the light, and then opened them when it got too cold, then shut it again when it got too bright. Whatever sleep she'd gotten was interrupted with a light knock against her door.

"Medusa…" Mavis's voice sounded from the other side. "Medusa, you up yet?"

"We got breakfast downstairs. Waaaaay downstairs," Johnny added.

Medusa raked her hands over her eyes, banishing the drowsiness as best she could. "I'm comin'."

"Sleep well?" Mavis asked, after she'd thrown the door open.

"A little cold, but nothing I can't handle," she replied plainly, then she stepped out and gave a little surprised start and a disappointed, "Oh, it's you…"

Dracula was standing hunched between Mavis and Jonathan with his hands folded behind his back and cape covering him almost completely.

Jonathan elbowed him firmly in the ribs. Dracula glared at Johnny before turning to Medusa with a stiff groan. "I- er, it has come to my attention that I may have been… unfair to you, though in my defense you were being a bit thre- ow," Dracula winced in pain as Mavis elbowed him from the other side. He rubbed his arm and sighed. "I- I apologize for my behavior yesterday," he mumbled sullenly.

"And…" Mavis whispered.

"And, I want to start going over the library with you. Like I promised. Because Dracula's always keep to their word." Dracula said in dull monotone, like he was a bored child reciting a speech from a placard.

Medusa leaned against the door frame for several moments, facing Dracula with a considered intensity. Finally she said, "Alright," and walked out, passing the three and making her way down the stairs without another word.

"See, man, that wasn't so hard," Johnny said, amiably patting Dracula on the back. Mavis dropped her forehead into her palm.

"The Underworld library is bigger," Medusa said without preamble shortly after stepping into the Hotel Transylvania library.

"Are we in the Underworld?" Dracula asked with a condescending lilt.

"Obviously not…"

"So quit your whining or go back and spare me the sound of your voice."

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed, eh Sunshine?"

"We don't rise with the sun here, as you might've noticed…"

"I know. That was in reference to your personality," Medusa countered in a disdainful, ironic tone.

Dracula glared at her icily, "Let's just, try to get through this as quickly as possible, alright? No more arguing?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can hold it in if you can," she muttered. Dracula rolled his eyes. Medusa suddenly straightened and clapped her hands together. "Well, chief, it's your library. Where do you propose we start?"

Dracula scanned the shelves lining the library walls. The front half was entirely fiction-based; classic literature, folktale collections, sweeping novels and the like. The rest was nonfiction, mostly his own collection, newspapers dating back to the Victorian Era, and a few generous donations from other monsters. Most patrons didn't pay much attention to the nonfiction articles while on vacation so it hadn't really been maintained or organized very thoroughly, except for Mavis's old schoolbooks, which wouldn't really help them much.

"I say we start in the back and work our way forward. Everything nonfiction should be divided by subject so we can make a broad sweep and then determine the sections we should focus on."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Medusa asked.

"Any research on gorgon powers, anatomy, records of death," Dracula began.

"Anatomy?"

"Yes. Any theories on how your powers work, what is the aging process like, can you die of blood loss, is your blood poisonous? Any information of that sort would be helpful," Dracula moved to the back of the room, his eyes roaming over row after row of spines until he found a shelf of what appeared to be 19th century medical journals. "Here we go, perfect place to start." He pulled an especially thick journal off the bookcase and handed it unceremoniously to Medusa, who dipped a little to catch its weight.

She rested the large book against her hip, fanning it open a little with one hand. "Um, I don't exactly..." she trailed off.

"What? What's the problem?"

"I don't really..." she gestured vaguely at the front cover.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. "You can't read, can you?"

"I can read," she shot back defensively. "Just...not this, whatever this is."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Dracula gave an agitated sigh.

"No, really, l can read. Hold on," she dropped the journal with a heavy thump onto the nearest table and moved down the wall of books. She got nearly two-thirds of the way down the room before snapping her fingers and pulling a thin paperback off a low self with an entirely different alphabet on the cover. "I can read this," she said proudly. "Oh, and this," she removed another. "Plato's Symposium," she read the front cover. "What section is this? The drunkards discuss philosophy section?"

"Most likely it's the dead language section. Exactly how old are you?"

"Aren't you the gentleman," Medusa said sarcastically. She pulled out a chair and plopped down, leaning with her back against one arm of the chair and leaving her legs to drape lazily off the other. She pulled Plato's Symposium open, skimming a few pages.

Dracula groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm on a hopeless literary goose chase with a monster who reads dead languages."

"But l still can read. I used to have a copy of this. Well, it was in scroll form. Complete garbage, but sometimes garbage is entertaining."

"Fine. Why don't I start on the medical books and you try to find something useful in the books you can read."

"Well, nothing useful in this thing," Medusa tossed the Symposium onto the table and continued her browsing of the library shelves, accumulating a little stack of the ones she was able to read.

"How long have they been in there?" Johnny asked, trying to peek between the gaps in the library doors.

Mavis shrugged. "A couple of hours. Why? Anything broken yet?"

"Nah, they're just reading." Johnny maneuvered a little to get a broader view of the room. Dracula was at one end of the library and Medusa was at the other, each engrossed in their own reading material. They probably hadn't spoken all evening.

"Johnny, this is boring," Mavis slid down the wall into a seated position on the floor. Johnny remained where he was, hunched over the door handle. "We're finally back at home and we haven't been sledding or moat-skating or anything. The snow isn't gonna last forever y'know."

"I'm just curious. You think they'll figure it out?"

"Figure what out?"

"How to turn Medusa."

"I have no idea." Mavis said flatly.

"Well, aren't you even a little interested in how the whole thing works?"

"What? Turning? I guess. I never really thought about it. Nobody really discusses it, especially in front of me. Not really a subject for a young lady, I guess."

"Is it really gruesome and gross? Like do you have to drain all the blood out of your body? Do you deflate like a balloon?"

"I don't know, Johnny. A vampire bites you, something happens and then you die, and you wake up and you're a vampire. Can we do something else, please?"

Johnny leaned away from the door, looking fixedly at Mavis. "Why do you always get like that when we start to talk about this?"

"Get like what?"

"Whenever we start to talk about turning you get all defensive and you change the subject."

"I'm not defensive. Maybe the reason I want to change the subject is because we've exhausted it and there's nothing left to discuss."

"Mavis, you know that isn't true. Haven't you even thought about the fact that I…"

The door swung open violently, nearly knocking Johnny off his feet at the absence of something to lean on. Count Dracula filled the open space leading into the room, tall and imposing and starring Johnny down the edge of his hooked nose.

"Is this really the best spot for a conversation?" Dracula asked, steepling his fingers, "In this entire hotel, in all the hallways and in all the rooms, this is the only place for you to talk. You two sound like a pair of demon chipmunks, it's impossible to think with all that mumbling and chirping," his hands waved and he made a series of chirping and chattering noises between his fangs.

"Sorry Dad, we were just looking for something to do," Mavis got up dusting off her knee-length sweater.

"Well, go bother the werewolves or something. I've got quite a lot on my plate here."

"What's goin' on?" Medusa pushed the second of the double doors open, standing as far from Dracula as the door frame would allow.

"Mavis and I were… thinking about… doing something… sledding or moat-skating or something." Johnny said awkwardly.

"Well I wish you'd actually go moat-skating instead of whispering in front of this door. We have a lot of work to do here."

"Y'know what, you should come. Take a little power break," Johnny suggested.

"Yeah, Dad, we haven't been moat-skating all winter."

Medusa's bit of a nose crinkled, "Moat-skating?"

"So you tie blades onto your feet and walk on the ice?" Medusa cocked her head in confusion at the assembly of monsters gliding across the moat. She had somehow managed to cover her head with a wool beanie that Johnny had lent her, and for once she looked like your everyday lizard woman with sunglasses instead of a snake-haired gorgon. Until the beanie moved a little, seemingly of its own accord, and gave the snakes away.

"Yeah, it's a sinch," Johnny said, tying on his skates.

Medusa glanced from the frozen moat up to the large, flaming torches lining the edges of the ice, lighting it up like a giant pane of glass. "Is it safe with all that fire?"

"We test the ice every sundown," Mavis explained. "It'll be plenty thick for another month or so, before the weather starts getting warm and the snow melts."

"So it doesn't look like the inside of a ghost here all year round?"

Johnny laughed.

Mavis showed Medusa how to lace up her skates. Footwear in general was somewhat uncharted territory for her and the stiff boots that laced halfway up the shin was something like a straight jacket to her. The gorgon crinkled her nose, rotating her ankles as she tried to get used to the skates. "They kind of pinch," she said, "How do you walk with these?" She took a few wobbly, cursory steps trying to balance on the two blades and ended up stumbling into a wall.

Dracula shook his head, leaving the three to get their bearings and gliding from the ground to the ice in one, seamless step. Frank and Murray were already on the ice, the latter drawing an elegant figure eight into the ice with one foot and the former trying to pull his legs back together while the puppies played hockey with one of his dismembered thumbs.

"Hey Drac, how's it going?" Murray asked, skating up to the vampire and dousing him with flecks of white as he dug into the ice to stop. "What do you think of the gorgon lady?"

At that moment, Medusa gave a panicked yelp and slid out of control down the moat with her arms waving helplessly in front of her. She crash landed into one of the large torches, which were unfortunately made of iron and didn't offer much recoil and she ended up lying flat on the ice with a painful sounding smack.

"I think it will better for everyone once she leaves," Dracula said with a sympathetic wince.

"You think she'd go for me? Hypothetically, I mean. You think I'd have a shot."

Dracula put a comforting hand on the mummy's shoulder. "Murray, my friend, I think you'd have a better shot with an actual nest of snakes," he paused. "And I say that with the greatest possible respect."


	17. In Love and War

Mavis heaved her backpack onto her bed, letting it bounce a little under the added weight. She hadn't quite unpacked yet. She had two weeks' worth of clothes that needed washing and much of her room needed to be put back into order. The first thing she pulled out was the folder Hecate had entrusted her with. She debated opening it for a moment and then quickly thought better of it. It wasn't meant for her. She set the folder aside to give to Dracula later and turned to the daunting task of cleaning out her backpack. She had just unzipped the largest section of the backpack and pulled out a giant handful of dark sweaters when Johnny burst into the room.

"Mavis! Hey, Mavis!" he stopped short at the sight of the large mountain of clothing Mavis was hidden behind. "Gasp!" he said in an overblown, exaggerated swoon of worry. "A giant sweater-beast!"

"Hi, Johnny," Mavis said, muffled behind the wall of sweaters.

"The foul sweater-beast has devoured my sweet Mavis!" he gasped. "Never fear Mavis, I shall avenge you," he lifted a massive toad under his arm and pulled sharply at its long back legs. Its mouth snapped open and tongue lashed out, launching a wet, green pellet that hit and splattered against Mavis's sweater pile, knocking several pieces to the ground.

"Johnny," Mavis said sternly, "no slime-ball shooting in the hotel."

"Since when?" Johnny smirked.

"Since two seconds ago," Mavis leveled a matching smirk at her boyfriend, "and it's about to be revoked right… about… now!" She tossed her pile of clothes into Johnny's arms, forcing him to catch them and giving her enough time to dig out her own toad-gun from under her coffin. "Slime-ball fight!" Mavis cheered, launching a volley of shots in haphazard directions.

Johnny dropped the clothes and ran out of the room, pursued closely by his girlfriend and only turning once to take an awkwardly aimed shot of his own. He turned back around only to run face first into the hulking mass of Frankenstein's monster.

Frank took one, calculated look at the young couple, Johnny out of breath and mumbling incoherent apologies, Mavis sheepishly tucking the toad behind her back, and he crossed his arms authoritatively. "What gives you two the idea that you can start a slime-ball fight in the hotel?" he asked sternly.

"Without me?"

Slime-ball fights, no matter how they start, are always destined to be finished outside and always destined to drag an exponentially large amount of people into the conflict. By the time Johnny and Mavis momentarily paused the fight in order to break into teams, half of the hotel staff and most of the patrons had gathered to join. Dracula and Medusa had emerged from the library, the latter muttering a "thank the gods," and tossing the ancient Athens monster census she'd been reading to run outside into the cold and the former calmly marking his place in a medical tome on hematology and smiling in anticipation of owning his daughter's boyfriend in a playful shooting match.

"Medusa's on my team!" Johnny shouted.

"Dad, you're with us," Mavis countered, tossing the two a pair of toads. "Red slime is our team, green for Johnny's."

"What manner of creation is this thing?" Medusa held the large toad at arm's length, pinching the webbing of its foot and letting the rest of it dangle.

"Just think of it as a paint-ball gun," Johnny showed her how to hold the toad under one arm and how to pull its legs back in order to fire.

"How do you aim?"

"You just point its head where you wanna shoot. It's not very exact," Johnny admitted. Medusa tipped the toad back and pulled experimentally at its legs. The shot went off; a ball of green flew in a wide arch and landed with a soft splatter, the green standing out against the white of the snow.

"Kind of messy, isn't it?" Medusa asked.

"That's kind of the point," Johnny started.

"If you get hit with slime, you're out of the game," Mavis continued.

"And the toad can only shoot six shots per minute so don't try to rapid fire everything," Johnny said.

"Shooting in the hotel is off limits," Dracula added, "The fight has to stay in the back courtyard, Johnny," he glared scathingly at the young man.

"And no powers allowed, Dracula," he glared back.

"Alright, alright, everyone clear on the rules?" Mavis asked. She was met with a chorus of anxious approval, the red toad monsters howling across from the green toad monsters. "Okay, last team standing wins. Let the game begin!"

She fired one shot in the air and pandemonium erupted. The werewolf puppies simply attacked each other in their own, fur-flying tussle in the middle of the courtyard. Many of the witches attempted to fly off on their brooms before Johnny yelled "no powers" and they dropped to the ground annoyed. The smarter monsters took to the plies of snow and turned over tables and natural barricades to hide from the onslaught of green and red that knocked off nearly half the monsters in the first few minutes.

Wayne tore through the courtyard yelling "Try and catch me, suckers!" and darted from tree to tree followed by a flurry of slime.

Eunice struggled to get her toad to shoot, with no avail. "Frank," she shouted, "this obnoxious toad isn't working!" she croaked.

"Just pull its leg's, honey," Frankenstein shouted back.

"That's what I'm doing!" she shrieked.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, lemme see," he ducked his massive body behind a snow bank, army-crawling on his elbows and knees over to his wife, still fiddling with her malfunctioning toad. As soon as he approached her, the toad went off, splattering red all over Frank's face.

"Oh, great, it works now. Thanks, hun!" Eunice shouted in glee. Frank wiped at his eyes and grimaced.

The game moved quickly, disappointed monsters accumulating on the sidelines as they were shot and eliminated. Johnny, who had become quite proficient at first person shooter games before his days as a world traveler, was determined to last till the finish. He was a perfectly competent enough shot, but he would still need a bit of help. Johnny barrel-rolled towards the tree Medusa had stationed herself behind. She pulled at the beanie covering her hair but otherwise didn't move an inch. "Okay, here's the plan," Johnny stated, plastering his back to the tree trunk next to the gorgon.

"Plan?" she asked.

"Yeah, we need to take out Drac or we're toast."

"Dracula?" Medusa asked in bemused astonishment.

"He always kills me at this game. And he cheats."

Medusa subtly raised an eyebrow. She peeked around the tree to see Dracula disappear and reappear across the courtyard, nailing a pair of glasses in the back, red slime marking the form of the invisible man. He ran off cackling, his cape dragging behind him, clearly enjoying himself a touch too much.

"Competitive one, isn't he?" Medusa observed.

"The worst. But we're gonna nail him," Johnny said.

Murray slid through the snow, creating a small avalanche as he joined his two teammates. "What're you guys up to?" he asked, cocking his toad back over his shoulder.

"We're gonna take out the vampire king," Johnny said, with all the hushed intensity of a master general. "Here's the plan, the pool area is the most exposed part of the courtyard," he drew a little circle in the snow to mark the pool. "We need to lure him there. Murray, you're gonna be our bait."

"Me?" the mummy winced.

"You're an easy target, no offense. And he's sure to come after you if you taunt him enough, no offense." Johnny said, "Anyways, I'm gonna move around the tree line this way," he drew a line curving counter-clockwise in the snow, "and when I'm in position, I'll signal Murray to come out and taunt Drac to come over. That's when I'll hit him. Medusa, you cover me."

"What if he doesn't come to the pool area, what if he just shoots him at long range?" Medusa asked, referring to Murray.

"That's not Drac's style. He picks people off short range. Hence the cheating," Johnny explained.

"Ah."

"Say, Medusa, after this slime-ball fight, maybe we could…" Murray began, scratching at the bandages behind his head.

"Not now, man. This is war!" Johnny interrupted. "Everyone clear on the plan?" Medusa gave a firm nod while Murray gave a slow, sheepish one. "Alright, let's move out!"

They separated, Murray making his way towards the pool in one direction, Johnny and Medusa heading the other direction. They moved quickly as possible, darting from hiding place to hiding place. For all of Murray's bulk he was still quite light on his feet and he slid into position long before the other two had made it around the courtyard.

They were over half way there when Mavis jumped out suddenly from behind a snow covered bench, firing six shots off in quick succession. Johnny and Medusa froze, the red pellets flying wide past them and landing harmless in the snow. Medusa shot off a pellet of her own before the six had even landed and hit Mavis square in the chest.

"Aw, c'mon," the vampire complained, dropping her weapon.

"Sorry, babe, nothin' personal," Johnny winked at her. The two moved on before the noise attracted anyone else to the scene.

"Your girlfriend couldn't hit the broad side of a mountain," Medusa commented as they ran.

They finally ducked behind an overturned table, perfectly aligned with the pool area. Johnny locked eyes with Murray across the snow covered deck and raised his hand, signaling the mummy to go.

Murray hopped onto the pool, sliding a bit on the odd, green shaded ice. "Hey Drac," he shouted, "What has four limbs and no fashion sense? Seriously, man, Queen Victoria called, she wants her… cape… back- you're outfit's stupid!"

"Stupid, is it?" Dracula's voice echoed through the courtyard. Johnny's eyes darted left and right but he couldn't make out where the vampire was hiding.

"Yeah, and stiff. You're so stiff it's easier to party with the icicles freezing off the roof."

"Oh ho. Hilarious. You will regret that remark, Murray," Dracula's voice countered with icy sarcasm.

"Come and get me, you old tight coffin!" Murray turned and started shaking his round backside in the general direction of the courtyard.

Medusa nudged Johnny in the shoulder. "There he is," she whispered. Johnny turned just in time to see a flash of purple and a large bat darting across the courtyard with a toad held in its feet.

"Seriously," Johnny whispered in agitation. "Serious rule violation, dude!"

Dracula bat laughed manically, swooping down to fire at Murray, whose frantic attempts to escape proved quite futile. The mummy rolled off with three large red splotches covering his backside. Johnny took his shot but the pellet whizzed past the bat, only serving to alert the vampire to their location. With a hearty chuckle, he flapped towards them, three shots hitting the snow-covered table with a reverberating bang and the last one making it over the barricade, forcing Johnny and Medusa to dive in opposite directions to avoid being hit.

Johnny scrambled for additional cover, mentally regretting his decision to lure Dracula out by the pool. "Nice shooting, man," Dracula shouted above him. He let out another volley of red, finally landing a pellet on Johnny as the human tried to outrun it. "But not good enough." Dracula finished with a toothy grin.

Medusa lay stomach down in the snow, her hat blown off in the roll she'd used to dodge Dracula's attack and the snakes writhing mad in the cold. She lifted the toad next to her face, tilting it up slowly, following the bat's frantic flapping movements with a careful precision. She pulled back the toad's legs with a quick pop.

The bat staggered in the air and then fell like a rock.

Dracula transformed, sitting blank-faced and stunned in the snow with his legs spread in a shallow V and a small, green splotch on his forehead, directly between his eyes.

"Whooo hoo! Oh yeah!" Johnny whooped, jumping into the air in excitement. "That was amazing! In your face, Drac! Literally!" Dracula only blinked, barely even noticing the slime dripping down his forehead and over his nose.

Medusa merely stood up, retrieving her hat and dusting the snow off her front. A small, crooked smirk of a smile her only celebration. Johnny ran up to her, holding out his hand for a high five. When she didn't respond he manually took her hand and showed her how it worked, slapping their palms together and then continuing his cheering.

The rest of the monsters had been shot and removed from the game by that point, and so the green team was declared victorious with Medusa as the last player standing.

"That was pretty amazing," Mavis admitted, running from the sidelines to join them, her sweater still covered in green. "Could you teach me that?"

"What?" Medusa asked.

"How to shoot like that. Can you teach me?"

"Oh, me too," Johnny chimed in. "Teach me, too."

"Uh… I guess," she shrugged. "I haven't exactly taught anyone before, but we could set up a target, I could make some more arrows-"

"Wait… wait just a minute…" Dracula interrupted. He had finally regained his bearings and stood, wiping the slime from his brow with all the dignity he could muster. "I feel there's a line that needs to be drawn here, and I think weapons are a pretty good place to draw it."

"Dad," Mavis hissed in warning.

"What do you call these? They're weapons," Medusa brandished her toad, waving it in front of Dracula's face.

He batted her away. "They're toys. Non-lethal. Though they can apparently hurt like hell." He touched his forehead with a pained wince.

"Well if you followed the rules and didn't abuse your bat powers it wouldn't have hurt as much, Sunshine," Medusa countered.

"I- you- it doesn't matter," Dracula stammered. "I will not have my daughter learn something as dangerous as archery and that is my final say on the matter." He turned with a swish of his cape and marched through the slime stained snow back into the hotel.

"But Dad," Mavis began.

"So, you're just going to let your daughter wander around the world without so much as the ability to aim?" Medusa asked incredulously.

"What I let my daughter do is none of your concern," Dracula said flatly, continuing his march into hotel lobby with the attitude that the conversation was over.

"It becomes my concern when someone crashes into my place without a single method of defense," Medusa marched after him, her smaller stride having to work twice as fast to catch up with him. Mavis and Johnny trailed after her leaving the rest of the monsters outside in a stunned silence. "I'm not a private security service here, if she could take care of herself…"

"Who says she can't take care of herself-"

"I do. Have you even seen her try to shoot? She couldn't hit a Cyclops if it was standing right in front of her."

"Don't I get a say in this!" Mavis protested.

"Not now," both Dracula and Medusa shouted simultaneously. Mavis's eyes stiffened into a hurt glare and she sped off in a flash of smoke.

"Mavis," Johnny called, running up the stairs after her.

"I am her father, it is my duty to protect her," Dracula continued without breath, towering over Medusa like a steeple.

"Sheltering her is not protecting her. She isn't fifty-years-old, for Hades' sake, she's a grown woman."

"I am perfectly aware of how old my daughter is."

"Are you?" Medusa shifted her voice low in a hoarse imitation of Dracula's, "Blood orange, honey-bat, vittle mouse, sveet dumpling?"

"I do not sound like that."

"You talk to her like she's a toddler."

"I am merely a father showing affection for his daughter. No one would consider that a crime, except for you."

"What are you talking about?" Medusa's voice hitched up an offended octave.

"Mavis, you okay?" Johnny knocked softly at her bedroom door. "It's me, Johnny," he added, though he probably didn't need to.

The door swung open, Mavis standing in its place, her eyes wide and glassy and clearly agitated. "Can you believe them?" she said in lieu of acknowledging Johnny's presence. She turned back into the room leaving Johnny to follow her in and shut the door behind them. "They're acting like children!"

"They're just a little stubborn is all," Johnny said, softly approaching his girlfriend and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Drac will come around to the archery thing eventually," he assured her.

"It's not that. They don't trust me. They care more about their childish intimidation feud than they do about me."

"Hey, you know that's not fair. You mean the world to Drac…"

"He's still trying to keep me shut in. He didn't trust me when we brought Medusa back, he doesn't trust me to learn to shoot, he doesn't think I can make any of my own decisions," Mavis paced frustrated back and forth across her room, transitioning up the wall to walk upside down on the ceiling.

"Drac's just being a dad," Johnny reasoned. "He thinks he's doing what's best for you. And I think Medusa undersold your abilities."

"What are you talking about?" Mavis stopped her pacing, staring at Johnny from the ceiling.

"What person just up and leaves their parents in the middle of the day and doesn't return for a hundred years?" Dracula hovered accusingly over Medusa.

She drew herself up to her full height, her snake hair moving so wildly they'd long ago knocked her hat to the floor. "That is a situation you will never understand," she said between clenched teeth.

"You ran away from your own family. And from what Echidna told me even when you came back you treat them like strangers…"

"I'm trying to protect them!"

"And yet you're just fine hanging out here," Dracula spread his arms, gesturing around the hotel lobby. "Are you seriously telling me it's perfectly fine for you to be arguing here with me but you can't have breakfast with your own two parents?"

"You were shot in the stomach and walked away from it. Do you still not realize how amazing that was?"

"That wasn't something I did, it was just a vampire side-effect."

"Well, it's a pretty useful side-effect, don't you think?" Johnny replied, his voice growing tense. "If it had been me…"

"Why do you keep doing that? Why do you keep deprecating yourself like that?" Mavis shot back, a familiar frustration beginning to broil in her chest.

"Because it's true. Why do you keep ignoring the fact that I'm human?"

"I'm not ignoring it!" Mavis shouted back indignantly. "I like that you're human, Johnny. I love that you're human. Do you realize how much it means to me that we're together? How much it means to monsters?"

"Mavis," Johnny took one, shaky breath in an attempt to steady himself, "Mavis, I can't represent all of humanity, here. I'm just one guy."

"I know that," she said, reeling back a little, "But maybe someday there could be more. Maybe someday monsters wouldn't have to hide from humans. We could live together."

"I don't- I don't see how that could be possible, Mavis."

"Do you have any idea how many kids they have running around that place on any given day? Do you realize how easily an accident could happen?" she poked him meaningfully in the chest. He staggered back.

"That's still an evasion! You've got those glasses, they work just fine."

"They're unreliable. They fall off, they can break. You try explaining to a toddler what they're for, they don't listen. And you weren't exactly comfortable with me being here, even with the glasses."

"Of course not, I-"Dracula stopped, reconfiguring his argument, "That still doesn't justify the vampire thing. The glasses aren't good enough so you take the most extreme solution possible?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why not just stay out of their lives completely?"

"Because I love them, that's why!"

"We zinged for a reason, Johnny. And this whole place has changed for the better because of it. It couldn't have been a coincidence."

"It's like you're saying the only reason we're together is because I happened to be a human that happened to wander into this hotel at the right time. Like I could've just been anybody and it would've turned out the same."

"But it couldn't have just been anybody. You're the only human that found this place in over a hundred years. You're special."

"Because of that?"

"Isn't that enough?" Mavis faced her boyfriend, her voice growing soft, "I love you for what you are."

"Dammit, Mavis, I need to be a vampire!" Johnny belted out. He swallowed the instant after he said it. How had this gotten so out of hand? He wanted them to talk about this, he'd wanted to talk about it for a long time now, but he didn't want to just drop it into an argument like an atom bomb.

Mavis had stepped back like she'd just been struck. "You don't need to be a vampire," she countered slowly. She could feel a myriad of things, a whole slew of emotions and worries and fears she'd been trying desperately, sometimes even intentionally, to bury emerge in one fell swoop.

"Yeah, I do. I'm getting older as we speak, Mavis. I am going to die."

"You have to die to be a vampire!" Mavis countered, "It's painful, Johnny, it's risky, it's awful. I can't let you go through with that. It's too much…"

"I don't care, I want to do it. I want to be one of you."

"So we cut ourselves off again? We go right back to being isolated and alone and afraid of the entire world," Mavis's voice rose.

"That wouldn't have to happen just because I'm a vampire…"

"Wouldn't it? Think about it Johnny, the only reason the others can accept you here is because you zinged with me. And the only reason the humans can accept me is because I'm with you. What's supposed to happen when you aren't human anymore? We're just cut off again."

"But you wouldn't have to worry about me getting hurt or growing old." Johnny protested.

"And you would be giving up something so huge I could never repay it," Mavis replied, her eyes starting to sting.

Johnny dragged a hand through his tousled hair, his voice rising. "I'm not asking you to do that!"

"It doesn't matter. It'd be hanging over me, hanging over us, for the rest of eternity. And if it didn't work out… you'd resent me, you'd hate me, and I'd feel so guilty."

"So, what am I supposed to do, Mavis?" Johnny dropped his arms in frustration. "Just grow old and die!"

"I-I don't... how can you ask me that, I don't know!"

Dracula sat in the library alone, slowing turning pages, searching. He sat up straight with a start when the door was pushed suddenly open and Mavis marched in, her eyes hollow and red and her back unnaturally stiff.

"Here," she slid a plain, brown folder over to her father. "It's from Hecate," she said flatly.

Dracula barely glanced at the folder before turning back to his daughter. "Honeyba- uh, Mavis, what's the matter?"

Mavis took a small, shallow breath. The last time Dracula had seen her about to cry was her birthday, and even then she hadn't looked this lost. "Johnny and I had a fight," she said.

"Oh, that's- that's unfortunate," Dracula offered. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Mavis shook her head in the negative; her eyes began to well up. Dracula pulled his arms around her and she sobbed into his collar the way she used to when she was much smaller and had much less important things to cry over.

"If it makes you feel any better," he pulled his cape over her shoulders, "you have my blessing to learn archery."


End file.
